Fourth and Dumb

In the Week 1 “Five Things” column, I posed the following situation:

It is not clear if Army or Navy are eligible for a BCS bowl.  Starting this season, in an effect to regain the pomp and circumstance of their rivalry game and avoid being lost in the crowd, the Army-Navy Game has been moved a week hence from Championship Week to Heisman Saturday.  What happens if either team is 11-0 heading into Championship Week?  It is probably a moot point, based on the next paragraph, but I posted this question to the BCS Football folks.  I will post the response here if it ever comes.

Here is what I sent to BCS Football.

To Whom It May Concern:

I was wondering if Army or Navy are eligible to participate in a BCS
bowl, assuming they are able to qualify via the standard non-Big Six
conference procedures.  This question is based on the fact that the
Army-Navy Game is a week later this year, after the final BCS
standings have been released.  Since they play such a late game, are
they ineligible or are they technically eligible for selection if one
of them is undefeated when the final BCS standings are released?

Best regards,

Daniel Greenstein

BCS Football replied to my query last night:

Daniel,

Thanks for contacting the BCS.  The answer to your question is yes, Army and Navy could qualify fot the BCS.  Here’s the applicable rule:

“If berths are available after the automatic qualifiers have been identified, then the bowls shall select at-large participants from the “pool of eligible teams,” which shall include any Division I-A team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:

A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, not including exempted games, and

B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings.”

So what matters is their ranking on the day the standings come out.

We hope this helps.

Best wishes,

BCS

Now that the chances of this happening are greater than zero, I am going to explore how probable this is to actually happen.  The first factor is if Army or Navy manages to start 11-0, whether they would be picked out of a group of eligible candidates.  For instance, last season the final BCS at-large likely came down to 12-0 Boise State and 10-2 Ohio State.  As you know, Ohio State got picked, most likely because they were expected to bring in more $$$ for the powers that be, including higher television ratings for Fox.

However, Army and Navy are no ordinary members of the have-nots.  They are among the few teams that are cheered for by almost everyone no matter who they play, assuming they are not playing an individual’s favorite team.  While the number of declared fans of the teams is small compared to teams like Ohio State, Florida, or USC, almost everyone has some positive goodwill toward those teams, thanks to those teams being representatives of this country’s armed forces.  Despite a significant percentage of people in this country being opposed to the decisions made by the politicians and generals in charge of the armed forces, very few people are negative about individual members of the army, navy, air force, or marines.  In fact, the regard for members of the armed forces is overwhelmingly positive, and that would probably extend to the Army and Navy football teams, should they be in a position to play in the BCS.  So Army and Navy have an advantage over members of Le Petit Cinq in terms of perception.  No BCS executive wants to be tagged as the one that rejects Army or Navy from the BCS when one of them has an exemplary season; the backlash would be huge.

Now lets explore how probable it is for one of these teams to get into a BCS-potential position.  Both Army and Navy generally play among the weakest schedules in the FBS, usually featuring one to four high level teams and a bunch of teams most members of Les Six would see as cupcakes.  Here is Navy’s schedule this season:

This is actually an unusually ambitious schedule for Navy, as they usually do not play one of the elite teams like Ohio State unless Notre Dame happens to be very good in a particular year.  However, it is just the schedule that would allow the Midshipmen to pick up enough big wins to rise up the rankings.  For instance, if Navy can go on the road and shock Ohio State, you can expect them in the rankings Sunday, and if they keep winning, they keep heading up toward to the top 14.  The schedule features eight bowl teams from 2008, with the only light games prior to Army being Western Kentucky, Southern Methodist, Temple, and Delaware.  The key game, of course, is Ohio State.  Without a win there, it is Texas Bowl or bust for the Midshipmen.

Army is not expected to even contend for a bowl this year, but just for kicks, lets examine their schedule:

As Dick Vitale would say, “cupcake city, baby!”  Unless Rutgers is anything beyond a mid-level Big East team or Vanderbilt actually maintains its strong showing from last year, Navy is probably the best team on their schedule.  This schedule is comparable to Ball State’s of 2008.  Even if Army makes it to 11-0, they probably have very little chance at qualifying for the BCS.

So as we learned today, it is possible for Army and Navy to play in the BCS, but it is about as probable as starting and winning a land war in Asia.

It’s less than two weeks until the kickoff of the 2009 college football season, which means it’s prediction time.

So let’s start with that division (conference? bizarre amalgamation?) that is the NCAA I-A Independents, based on predicted order of finish:

1. Notre Dame
2. Navy
3. Army

Details and commentary after the jump. Continue reading ‘Predictions: I-A Independents’ »

Chris wins Championship week, going a combined 16-5 in the last three weeks and making a serious move towards the top. But now…

It’s the Fourth and Dumb Bowl Week Extravaganza!

Your four intrepid writers have nothing better to do than to pick all 34 bowl games, so that’s what we’re going to do. This one decides who wins it all.

Commentary and analysis after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Pick ‘Em – Bowl Week Extravaganza – Part 1’ »

Congrats to DanGr, who picked his way to another win. Way to come on strong late in the season.

There’s only one thing better than Rivalry Week, and that’s Championship Week.

Fred’s gone MIA all of a sudden, so we’re picking against the chalk on his behalf. (I FELL ASLEEP – Fred)

ACC Championship: #17 Boston College (-1) vs. #25 Virginia Tech (Tampa, FL) Saturday 1:00pm ABC
DanGr: This is not what the ACC had in mind when it poached the Big East so they could get their hands on some championship game $$$. Both teams have very good defenses, so it will be the offenses that decide this one. Specifically, the pass offenses. Both defenses are going to stymie the run, so it will come down to who has the better quarterback. Dominique Davis > (Tyrod Taylor OR Sean Glennon) BC to the OB via a low scoring game.
Fred: If I wasn’t lazy, I’d post that picture of a half-empty stadium hosting last year’s ACC Championship game, accompanied by an uninspiring score. I am lazy, though. This should be the closest game of the weekend.

Big 12 Championship: #20 Missouri (+16.5) vs. #2 Oklahoma (Kansas City, MO), Saturday 8:00pm ABC
DanGo: I think it’s pretty much a consensus; especially after their poor showing against Kansas in the Border War last week, there’s no way Missouri’s defense can stop Sam Bradford for 60 minutes. Look for Oklahoma to pull away late.

Conference USA Championship: East Carolina (+12) at Tulsa, Saturday 12:00pm ESPN2
DanGr: Surprisingly, this game will not be a shootout. ECU will make sure of that with their decent defense. But ultimately, Tulsa will pull away at the end to earn a trip to Memphis.

MAC Championship: #12 Ball State (-14.5) vs. Buffalo (Detroit, MI), Friday 8:00pm ESPN2
Chris: Turner Gill leads his team to the big upset and then gets a better job in a bigger conference (I hope).
DanGr: Do you get the feeling that the Cardinals are not going to be fully motivated at Ford Field? Buffalo will take advantage as they play lights out and shoot the bird all throughout the first half. But the skill differential is quite large and the Bulls did not fare well against anyone with a pulse. BSU will blow UB off the field in the second half to get to 13-0.

SEC Championship: #1 Alabama (+9.5) vs. #4 Florida (Atlanta, GA), Saturday 4:00pm CBS
DanGo: I’ve decided to try to be somewhat scientific in this pick. These are two talented teams, but Florida has the larger margin of victory over their six common conference opponents: 177-79. Florida only had two games where they outscored their opponent by less than 30 points – Tennessee and the loss to Ole Miss. Alabama only had 2 wins of more than 11 points, at Tennessee and at Arkansas. Look for the Florida D to stymie John Parker Wilson and for Tebow to get a chance to stretch his legs.
DanGr: The Crimson Tide defense and Gator offense will get their biggest tests of the year against each other. What about the Bama offense against the Florida defense? If the Tide defense can keep Florida under 30 points and keep them off the field, the offense should be able to do enough to get the victory late in the fourth quarter with a drawn out drive to end the game.

Navy (-11) vs. Army (Philadelphia, PA), Saturday 12:00pm CBS
Chris: Navy, by three samoans.
DanGr: If I pick against Navy again, my fiancee is sleeping on the couch. [Not really. -Ed.]

Arkansas State (+11) at Troy, Saturday 7:00pm ESPN360
DanGr: Troy is coming off a demolition of Louisiana Lafayette. The Trojans will continue their strong run in the de facto Sun Belt championship game.

Introduction: In this space, I will be liveblogging some of the early action of Week 12.  My main focus will be Notre Dame versus Navy in Baltimore on CBS, but I will also be changing the channel occasionally to check out Duke at Clemson on Raycom Sports.  Since I do not have cable, I will not be checking out whichever Big Ten game is assigned to my market, but I will be following it as well as other early game through the magic of the Internets.  I turn on the TV and I see some cartoon on CBS.  Is it just me, or do these Saturday morning cartoons get more stupid as I get older?  This cartoon block is called Kewlopolis, how gay.  I require intelligence and lots of pop culture references to sate me now.

Pre-Game: The big question today is whether Navy can prevent last year’s “upset” of Notre Dame that ended the longest series losing streak in NCAA history from being just a footnote in Notre Dame’s complete dominance of this rivalry since Roger Staubach.  Notre Dame also wants to prove they are back from last year’s terrible season.  Their best win this season might be Stanford.  A win over Navy might end up being the best of all of them, what with Navy’s wins over Wake Forest and Air Force.

In the other game, Duke can actually still become bowl eligible.  They need to win two of their final three games to get to six wins.  That task will be quite difficult.  They have a chance at scalping Clemson today, but they would then have to beat either Virginia Tech or North Carolina.  Ouch.  On the other hand, Clemson has this game and then South Carolina.  A win today would be much more difficult than one against the Cocks.

Among other games are three that were mentioned in the “Five Things We Will Learn” column kickoff either now or at 12:30.  I will keep track of those and let you know of any upset alerts.

Kickoff: These AT&T commercials are usually funny, but I am offended by this commercial with the police officers.  Ironically, the next commercial is an Army commercial.  Not the military academy, but the entry level path.

The introduction mentions the history of this rivalry, including the streak.  Of course, ended by that ever present word in 2008, “change.”  According to coach Ken Niumatalolo, the Midshipmen have got to believe and achieve.  No matter how you feel about the military, is it always impressive seeing them marching in formation in stadiums.  It looks like the Navy students are going to fill the entire lower seating area in one of the end zones.

I always find it strange that the military academies have cheerleaders.  Navy will kickoff to Notre Dame.  According to Steve Beuerlein and Craig Bolerjack, Navy won the toss, which was attended by Condi Rice and Robert Gates.

First Quarter:

14:52: First play from scrimmage is a big rush from Notre Dame right into the Ravens logo.  Talk about establishing the run.

12:49: We have already hear the Notre Dame fight song and Anchors Away.  Navy jumps offsides.  We will hear it many more times today.  We hear about Notre Dame’s playmakers in “Above the Lein.”  Time out Notre Dame.

The slow motion Dr. J commercial is pretty cool, but it could become a victim of being played way too much.  I

12:35: Notre Dame is not having much trouble moving the ball early.  They convert the third down.  Next play, Navy stuffs the run.

11:49: Jimmy Clausen makes a really bad throw on his first pass.  Intercepted by Navy.  You know what time it is?  Totally awesome triple option time!

11:41: That is, if they can avoid false starting and being sacked.  Hehe, Navy can explode at any time.  Now would be a good time, being deep in their own end.

10:39: Navy attempts its first pass.  It was almost as bad as Notre Dame’s first pass.  Navy will punt; they kick it to almost midfield.  This is the first time all year Navy did not score on its opening possession.

I am getting sick of the commercial with the executive who only text messages at work.  I flipped to my usual Raycom station, a MyNetwork affiliate, and they are showing a movie.  I flip around and find the game on the Fox station.  Strange.  At least it is on at all.

9:46: Notre Dame should try to win this game without throwing a pass.  Navy is not going to be able to stop them on the ground, so keep hitting them until the Middies can stop it.  Notre Dame tries something fancy and gets stopped.  Obviously, they are not listening to me.

8:24: Jimmy Clausen completes its first pass.  It is caught in the flat and goes for a first down.

8:00: Notre Dame tries another pass and Jimmy Clausen gets sacked and fumbles.  Navy recovers.  If Navy can win the turnover battle like this, they are going to have a great shot.

Bud Light sucks, but the commercials are great.  Especially if they feature women at football games.  Duke and Clemson are ten minutes in and still scoreless.  Clemson is in all orange.  Eww.

7:31: Navy runs up the middle.  We get an update from Urbana-Champaign.  The Illibuck game is tied at seven.  Illinois is wearing orange and white today.  Eww.

6:43: The triple option is a thing of beauty.  Can you imagine how gorgeous it would be

6:04: Navy was unable to get a first down on its series, so they punt.  Block-six for Notre Dame!  They get flagged for celebration, so they will kick off from the 20.  Notre Dame 7, Navy 0, 1st 6:03.

We have our first Navy commercial.  No, not the naval academy, but the entry level people.  Torpedo fodder.

5:57: Navy has a good return on the kickoff.  They start at their 36.

5:19: Navy is 0-3 when the other team scores first.  Uh-oh.  Navy airs it out (!) and the ball is almost intercepted at the ND 10.

5:09: Katani runs it up the middle.  It is 4th and 1, and Navy is going for the marker.  Movement!  Irish offsides, first down.  The referees are from the Big East, of which Notre Dame is 90% a member.  Just not the sport that counts.

3:50: Navy goes nowhere on first down, and get hit with a chop block penalty.  Craig or Steve call the Football Championship Subdivision university 10 miles to the north “Townson State.”

2:38: On 3rd and 21, Navy throws a pass, but it is dropped.  Both teams are playing sloppy, but Notre Dame is playing better overall.  Navy punts.

The Fighting Zooks (according to Tim Brando) give up a safety on a blocked punt.  Two points sure beats six.

2:10: Notre Dame starts at its 17.  They continue to run very well.  Third and short, James Aldridge gets it with ease.  Tornado Watch announcement and annoying beeping sound from the local station.

0:36: Buddy Green, Navy’s defensive coordinator, wants to stop the run.  Through the first quarter, his unit is not being very successful.  After the first quarter, Notre Dame leads Navy 7-0 and is driving at the Navy 38 yard line.

What looks like a Navy commercial with a bunch of veterans delivering two word lines turns out to be a Boeing commercial.  Well, they are a beneficiary of the defense monopsony.  One minute into the second quarter, Clemson is up on Duke 7-0.  Ohio State is up 16-7, while Texas-Kansas and Georgia-Auburn are early in the first quarter.

Second Quarter

15:00: Jimmy Clausen splits out wide.  Is this that newfangled Wildcat?  No matter, Navy foils the direct snap, so Notre Dame has to punt.  According to Craig, it is the first Notre Dame punt against Navy since 2004.

I hate Crackberries…er, Blackberries, and I hate the AT&T commercials with them.  The Enterprise commecial with the couple getting away for a romantic weekend is pretty dumb as well.

Readers: If you have any questions or comments, please post them in the Comments.  I will answer them as I see them, and I will be elated if there are too many comments for me to respond to.

14:35: Jack Swarbrick, athletic director at Notre Dame, is in the broadcast booth.  Craig is asking him to describe the status of the football program at Notre Dame.  The inevitable question about Charlie Weis’s job security is asked and answered in the affirmative.  He will evalutate them after the season, just like the top ranked women’s soccer team.

12:35: Navy celebrates something, and we go to commercial, but I have no idea what just happened, thanks to CBS distracting us from the action on the field.

Another non-academy Navy commercial.  We are going to see this commercial eight times, but the actual college promotion commercial once.  Duke just punted again.  Memorial Stadium at Clemson has lots of empty seats.  Understandable, given it is Duke, but Duke is not bad this year and bowl eligibility is at stake.  So this is the best atmosphere in the ACC?

12:20: It looks like Navy punted back to Notre Dame.

10:37: Notre Dame is not really using high risk-high reward plays, but it sure looks like it.  They gain chunks of yards alternating with several yard losses thanks to the Navy defense.  Notre Dame looks like it was going to break out but Navy held up and forced a punt.  Touchback.

I am sick of this Coke v. Coke Zero commercial.  Ohio State is up 24-7.  Georgia-Auburn is scoreless late in the first quarter.  Marine Corps Colonel Ripley, Navy ‘62, is “the man.”

8:40: Navy throws a pass.  First down!  More talk about Notre Dame’s relative lack of success in the Charlie Weis era.  Navy throws another pass.  What is going on here?!  Notre Dame is playing well against the run, so Navy has to get their mediocre passing game going.  Middles have to punt.  Irish throw two illegal blocks on the return, so they are backed up.

Finally, the Naval Academy has a commercial.  It is a pretty cool commercial, with good music, and it is a whole minute.  Hopefully we see that again in the second half instead of the entry level commercials.

6:51: Notre Dame starts at their own 7.  Jimmy Clausen avoids the safety sack and moves the Irish forward four yards on the pass.

Michigan is up 14-7 on Northwestern.  That is normal, except Michigan is not normal this year.  Rutgers is up 7-3 at USF.  How much of a disappointment have the Bulls been this year.

4:49: Notre Dame needs to punt.  Navy gets excellent field position.  They capitalize with a Katani run into Notre Dame territory.

3:42: Another Navy first down on a Bryant carry.  Notre Dame had their chance to knock the Middies out early, but they are ruing their failure now.  Katani pushes the pile again to the 23.  Just like the Irish were, Navy is now getting chunks on running plays.

2:39: 23-yard rushing touchdown on the option by Finnerty!  Navy has an illegal formation on the PAT.  Rekick from five yards further back.  Notre Dame 7, Navy 7 with 2:39 left in the second quarter.

Taco Bell commercials (this one is the one with the bull) are funny, but they rarely make me want to eat there.  Clemson is up 10-0 on Duke.  Auburn is up 6-0 on Georgia with a touchdown sans PAT.

2:32: Navy kicks off.  This scoreline is bad news for Notre Dame.  If they do not respond in the last 2 1/2 minutes of the half, they are going to feel the pressure going into the second half.

2:18: Notre Dame starts at their 22.  They go to the no-huddle and start throwing short-range passes.

1:39: Jimmy Clausen throws another awful pass and it is intercepted by Navy.  The Middies have the ball near midfield.  WIll they start throwing downfield to get into scoring range?

1:07: Navy fumbles the ball on their second play (an illegal formation, to boot) and Notre Dame recovers.  The Irish immediately get a good pass and are at the Navy 40.

0:39: Irish get a two-yard pass and call timeout.

Clemson is up 17-0 on Duke with less than a minute left in the half.  Have the Dookies been hit with reality?

0:39: Navy is still winning the turnover battle 3-1, but that does not include the punt block returned for a touchdown.

0:35: Clausen hits Grimes for a first down at the 30.

0:17: Navy misses a tackle, allowing Armando to continue along the sideline and go out of bounds at the Navy 16.

0:11: Clausen runs for it and gets crushed between two Navymen at the 9.  He is down and he is probably out.  Evan Sharpley, the backup, is warming up.

0:07: Sharpley pass to the end zone incomplete.  Clausen is back in for one more play before trying a field goal.  He throws it up for grabs in the right part of the end zone and the Notre Dame receiver grabs but drops it.

0:02: Brandon Walker comes on to kick a 28-yard field goal, but Ken Niumatalolo calls a time out to try to freeze him.  Twice.  Does this idiot strategy ever work?  Walker hits it through.  Notre Dame 10, Navy 7 at halftime.

Halftime

I am seeing the National Lampoon-derived commercial with Chevy Chase for Sprint.  Question for readers: is she or isn’t she wearing a swimsuit?  I have not seen the movie, so I am clueless.

Another entry level Navy commercial.  Bleh.

Penn State is only up 10-7 on Indiana at home.  Uh oh.  Ohio State is up 23-10 on Illinois at the half and serves to benefit if the Nittany Lions cannot get their Spread HD to pick up more than one channel.

I am serious disturbed by the AT&T commercial with the texting humbs with faces.  I am just annoyed by diamond commercials.  Yuck.

More disappointment in Tampa.  Rutgers is up 21-10 on USF.

Notre Dame’s college promotional commercial has more national defense and national service imagery than the Navy one, if that is possible.

Normalcy is returning.  Georgia scores to take the 7-6 lead over Auburn.

Brett Favre is hawking Wrangler Jeans.  He is in great shape, but he looks so old and I hate when athletes unretire.

The Verizon commercial looks like it takes place in Long Beach, California.  Can anyone confirm or deny?

The second Navy promotional commercial is more of a testimonial from a football player.  Decent, but the first one blows it out of the water.

Another entry level Army commercial.  The first part of the commercial shows working in the Army as a corporate job.  Is not one reason to go into the Army to avoid having to take a corporate job?

Third Quarter

15:00: Notre Dame will kick off to Navy to start the second half.

14:56: Navy fumbles the kick off reception.  They manage to recover the ball, but they start at their own 7.

14:21: First down Navy on the pitchout.  Navy has gotten better at moving the chains as the game has progressed.

12:42: Navy fails to convert on third down (and illegal formation to boot), so they have to punt.  It is a nice punt, but Golden Tate brings it back to midfield.

12:12: Uh oh.  Notre Dame is gaining chunks of yards again.  Another first down on a running play to get to the Navy 42.

We have our first comment from the peanut gallery!  From our friend Chris Borglum:

Auburn Georgia is playing like 1957: old-timey, run off tackle, slap those passes down football.

I’ve had two Red Stripes, DanGr, as I get ready for UF-SC, and I’ll keep checking in!

PS: Good parenting alert: wives are gathering elsewhere, and soon we’ll have three dads and four girls between 6-8 here, which will in no way slow down the beer intake.

I am completely in favor of young girls watching football with their fathers.  I am also in favor of getting them started pre-gaming while they are young and impressionable.

10:06: Notre Dame is having an excellent drive.  They are running the ball very well now.  If Navy cannot stop this on this drive and the next, this game could be over.

9:31: Forget this drive; 11 yard touchdown run by Armando Allen.  Cue the Irish fight song.  Notre Dame 17, Navy 7 with 9:31 left in the third quarter.

Another Navy enlistment commercial.  The next commercial, for Liberty Mutual, features a woman driving along normally before getting into an accident.  She does not slow down or anything.  Who is stupid enough to pull of that kind of rear-ending?

9:26: Navy returns the ball to the 19.  They stick with Jared Bryant at quarterback.  They will return to their bread-and-butter, but it is another three and out as they come up 2 yards short.

7:32: Notre Dame returns the punt to the 37 as the local station puts up yet another annoying weather alert.

Miller High Life commercial!  This one is positive; it does not feature the big black guy taking people’s beer.

The AFLAC Trivia Question asked us to name the two Navy coaches who had winning records in their first season in the period after World War II.  Guys named Hardin and Tranquill.  Very difficult unless you are an expert on Navy football.  It looks like Niumatalolo will join them in “immortality.”

The Allstate commercials with the football tailgaters are usually pretty good, but I am starting to tire of the one with the blonde wigs.

5:49: Notre Dame is starting to impose its will on Navy.  They are pushing them around.  Another long first down run.  And another one.  Navy needs to bring in the reinforcements.

4:11: Robert Hughes, the thunder-type back to complement Armando Allen, hammers away at the Naval front.  Then the front gets pierced for a Hughes touchdown.  Notre Dame 24, Navy 7 with 3:29 left in the third quarter.

Clemson is up 31-0 on Duke in the middle of the third quarter.  Shall we put the fork in this game?

3:29: Notre Dame is set to kick off.  It is really windy in Baltimore.  The Irish need to use a holder.  Navy returns the kickoff to the 20.

3:04: Navy has put in Ricky Dobbs at quarterback, but they get stuffed on first down.  He gets a nice gain on the second down play, but is stuffed again on third down.  Is this four down territory?  No, punt formation.

Penn State is pulling away from Indiana.  It is now 27-7.  The Lions are safe for this week.

0:54: Notre Dame’s players may be much bigger than the Navy players, but that is no excuse for shoddy tackling.  Another missed tackle leads to another big gain on first down.

0:06: Notre Dame is in Navy territory and driving.  The outlook is bleak for the Midshipmen if they allow another score on this drive.  Notre Dame 24, Navy 7 at the end of the third quarter.

Papa John’s has a new Italiano pizza.  I thought pizza was Italian?  How stupid do you think we are?

Ladies and gentlemen!  We have the worst non-game minutes of the afternoon: a small games lottery drawing.  The only things worse are those commercials for the games for which they are shagging balls.

Texas is up 21-0 on Kansas midway through the third quarter.  Unless the Fighting Manginos get it going, they are headed straight for 6-6.

13:39: James Aldridge busts through the Naval defenses for another first down.

11:54: Clausen hits Paris for a good gain.  Not another first down, but you just know a first down is around the corner.

11:17: Or maybe not.  Walker kicks a 36 yard field goal.  Notre Dame 27, Navy 7 with 11:17 left in the fourth quarter.

11:10: Notre Dame kicks off.  The announcers bring up Navy’s 20-point comeback against Temple two weeks ago, but Notre Dame is much better than Temple.

Ohio State is up 30-13 on Illinois.  No fork yet, but it looks like Illibuck is going back to Columbus and will keep the pressure on Penn State.  It is still 27-7 in State College.

9:25: Fourth and three.  Navy has to go for it.  Dobbs get stuffed.  Put a fork in this one; it is done.

These E*Trade commercials are old hat, but it is funny having a “clowns are creepy” reference.

DanGo, leave a comment with the name of the NASCAR driver who just promoted Wrangler Jeans.  That is, once you finally read this since you are kind of occupied right now.

9:07: The weather conditions in Baltimore at the moment are similar to how they were in the North Carolina State-Maryland game three weeks ago.  Heavy rain and miserable, if you are a Navy fan.  Evan Sharpley is in the game for Notre Dame at quarterback.

7:39: Notre Dame runs it to the 25 and goes out of bond.  Navy is penalized for a horse collar tackle to bring it deeper into the Navy end.

7:11: Will the Irish score again?  It would be nice if Notre Dame had names on their jerseys so I knew who was gashing the Midshipment.  I want to take names!

6:08: Notre Dame is hit with a 12 men on the field penalty, despite Charlie Weis calling timeout.  We later learn the side judge did hear Charlie Weis, so all is fine in Irishland, except everyone is getting soaked.

5:42: Jonas Grey appeared to stop when he hit the Navy line.  Navy’s defense is playing well at the moment, the moment being the last 90 seconds.  Too little, too late.  Notre Dame appeared to fumble, but it is ruled down.  There will be a review.

5:19: Survey says…fumble!  At least the replay is shockingly clear.  Navy ball at their own 5.  The officials need to get hit with the clue stick, because this is taking forever.  Beuerlein forgot that USC has not traveled to South Bend at the end of November since the early 1960s.  The officials get it right, but in a retarded fashion.

I really like the Christmas AFLAC commercial.  Rarely is an AFLAC commercial not entertaining.

4:47: Navy appears to hit a bomb at the 47 of Notre Dame, but the ball squirts out of the Navy receiver’s hands.  Niumatalolo challenges the call on the field of an incomplete pass.  On further review, it looks like this one will be overturned, or upheld on an obscure technicality.

4:47: We have an obscure technicality.  The play is upheld based on both players having possession of the ball.  Navy will have to punt.  Notre Dame will try to run the clock out on their 71st victory in this series.

Penn State and Ohio State are about to finish off Indiana and Illinois respectively.  Another stupid diamond commercial.  Another entertaining Miller High Life commercial (Miller staff invade a stadium luxury box), this one back to being negative.

Upset alert!  Auburn is up 13-10 on Georgia early in the fourth quarter.

3:50: Notre Dame is at midfield and is set to let the air out of this game.  The announcers are talking about out-of-town action, specifically highly ranked teams vis-a-vis the BCS.

2:30: The Irish go for it on fourth down and fail.  No matter, this one is over.  The fans who have fled the stadium know it.  The Midshipment brigades kind of have no choice but to stay to the bitter end.

Northwestern beat Michigan 21-14 in the Big House.  We know which team is superior in 2008, but it is still a shock to see that scoreline.

1:39: Shun White runs right for a 24-yard touchdown!  Navy has made the final score a little ore respectable.  Will we see an onside kick?  Notre Dame 27, Navy 14 with 1:39 left in the fourth quarter.

1:39: Navy does try the onside kick.  A Notre Dame player bats it out of bounds.  It was an illegal forward bat by the receiving team.  Navy will kick it again.

1:36: This time, Navy recovers the onside kick.  Uh oh.  Uh oh!  This would be incredible if they could pull this off.  They have the ball at the Notre Dame 41.  The rain has slowed down.

1:29: Oh my!  Can you believe it?!  Ricky Dobbs hits Tyree Barnes down the right side!  Touchdown Navy (?)!  But did Barnes step out of bounds or go out of bounds?  The play is being reviewed.  The toes were inbounds but the heel and side of the shoe was out of bounds.  Is this a complete pass?  It will not be a touchdown.

1:29: The officials get the play right.  The ball is at the one.  Dobbs is held on first down.  The announcers say Niumatalolo called a timeout, but I am pretty sure Navy had no timeouts!  I thought they lost their last time out on the failed challenge.

1:21: Ricky Dobbs on the keeper for a touchdown!  PAT is good!  Roughing the kicker on the PAT.  The kickoff will occur from the Navy 45.  Notre Dame 27, Navy 21 with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter.

1:21: We will definitely see an onside kick here.  Navy has no timeouts left, so a Notre Dame recovery ends the game.

1:21: Holy moly!  Navy recovers the onside kick!  There is a flag, but it is waved off.  Ball is at the 42 of Notre Dame.  Wow!

1:21: Notre Dame calls its last timeout to steady their ship.  Both teams are out of timeouts.  The Irish have been incredibly passive on these onside kicks.

1:10: Ricky Dobbs runs to the 33.  Clock runnning.  Shun White just misses catching the second down pass from Robbs.

0:44: Dobbs is forward to the 31.  First down.  Dobbs spikes the ball to stop the clock.  Second and 10 coming up.  0:39 left.

0:33: Dobbs is sacked at the 35.  Navy calls a timeout it does not have, but the referees give it to them!  Will the officials overturn that?!

0:33: Referees allow the timeout!!!  What a miscarriage of justice if you are an Irish fan.  Dobbs throws to the end zone, but no dice.  Fourth and 13 with 0:26 left.

0:22: Dobbs overthrows his receiver and the ball goes back to Notre Dame.  The Irish will take a knee, the clock will run out, the alma maters will be played, and I will continue blogging the late afternoon games in the next post.

Final Score: Notre Dame 27, Navy 21

Hey – what’s that? I’m not so bad at picking games after all. We’ve got a tie for second place now.

Boston College (+6.5) at #19 Florida State, Saturday 8:00pm ABC
Chris: Can anyone name any players on Boston College? I’m guessing DanGr could, but I can’t.
[Ed.: DanGr chose not to respond to this particular challenge, but I will: Kevin Challenger.]

South Carolina (+22.5) at #4 Florida, Sat 3:30pm CBS
DanGr: Does this seem familiar? They were in the exact same situation two years ago, twiddling their thumbs waiting for the SEC Championship Game. They ended up a botched field goal away from their national championship dreams being crushed in The Swamp by the Cocks. Do not be surprised if this is another close one, but the Gators will ultimately prevail.

#16 North Carolina (-3) at Maryland, Saturday 3:30pm ABC/ESPN
DanGo: There’s no “football science” in this pick. Maryland’s playing a a ranked team at home, thus.
Fred: Maryland is the Herschel Walker of college football. Not the dominating, run through eight brick walls and several small children actual player Herschel Walker, but you never know which Herschel you’re going to get Herschel Walker.

Minnesota (+13.5) at Wisconsin, Saturday 3:30pm ABC/ESPN
DanGo: Both of these teams have had a surprising season; Minnesota in a good way, Wisconsin in a not so good way. The Gophers have been surprising, but the loss to Michigan last week was a demoralizing blow, and the Badgers look to be too tough to stop.

Virginia Tech (+3.5) at Miami (FL), Thursday 8:00pm ESPN
Chris: Robert Marve continues running in place by throwing a couple picks, and Va Tech gets just enough offense to win.
DanGo: While I’m cheering for the Hokies the whole time in this one, I’m going to have to pick against them. The offense has still been stagnant, and even with a questionable return from Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies have too many question marks to play 60 minutes with a resurgent group of Hurricanes.

UCF (+7) at Marshall, Saturday 4:30 CSS
Chris: UCF has the worst offense in Division I, but Joe Burnett will get a pick and make a special teams play to get the Knights over. Bet on a combined under of 29 points.
PS–boy does George O’Leary suck.
DanGr: George O’Leary not only did not play college football, he also did not earn a Master’s in Education from NYU. Zing! That is besides the point. Face it, this Golden Knights team is as tarnished as O’Leary’s reputation. They are going to get spanked in Huntington against a Herd that wants to put pressure on East Carolina in the C-USA East race.

Notre Dame (-4) at Navy (Baltimore, MD), Saturday 12:00pm CBS
DanGr: If I pick against Navy again, my fiancée will exile herself to the couch.
Chris: DanGR, your fiancee needs to start practicing now to be a wife: YOU get exiled to the couch, not her.
DanGr: My fiancee will be no ordinary wife. I paid for the bed, so it is she who leaves. She agrees with me on this point.

Last week was a rough week for all of us, but Chris again proves victorious.

In the meantime, he didn’t submit his picks for this week, so we’re picking (against the chalk) for him!

Chris finally got his picks in…silly technical difficulties.

Memphis and Florida State make the difference, pushing Fred out front to win the week (again).

Only one game between ranked teams this week in the pick ‘em, but lots of close games. In the words of Keith Jackson, “Whoa Nellie!”

This week’s featured commentator is DanGr – mostly because he wrote more than anyone else.

#7 Texas Tech (-7) at Kansas State, Sat 3:30pm ABC
The Wildcats have done nothing to impress me thus far. That said, the Red Raiders have done nothing to impress me thus far. However, Texas Tech has the much better quarterback working in the much better offense. This one will be a shootout blowout that Graham Harrell will ensure will be over by the end of the third quarter.

Florida State (+2) at Miami (FL), Sat 3:30pm ABC/ESPN2
Florida State’s offense showed some life last week, but Colorado is no Miami. The Miami defense will keep the Seminoles down, while the Hurricane offense will do enough to win a defensive struggle.

Rice (+16) at Tulsa, Sat 8pm CBS College
Do you think this game will be the highest scoring tilt in the Football Bowl Subdivision this year? You better believe it. The Golden Hurricane will remain undefeated because their offense has a higher degree of prolificity than the offense of the Owls. However, this will not be over until deep into the fourth quarter when Tulsa finally pulls away.

Illinois (+2.5) at Michigan, Sat 3:30pm ABC/ESPN2
Both teams had a good Week 5, with Michigan coming up big against Wisconsin and Illinois having a good but ultimately losing showing at Penn State. I just have the feeling that the Wolverines are the hotter team right now; they will pull away late to secure victory. They are not better than Illinois right now, but they will be a month from now.

#14 Ohio State (-1) at #18 Wisconsin
Ohio State is back. They may not win the Big Ten this year (or will they?), but they have a winning combination with Terrelle Pryor and Chris Wells that will get them back to the BCS Championship Game (in the near future) only to get smashed by some SEC team. They will show it at Camp Randall in a close win.

Navy (+5) at Air Force, Sat 4:00pm Versus
Oh noes! Both of these teams run the totally awesome triple option! How ever shall I decide? By taking the home team to end their five-game losing streak against the Midshipmen.

Arizona State (+9) at California, Sat 3:30pm ABC
Jeff Tedford reopened the quarterback competition this week after Kevin Riley played poorly against Colorado State. In addition, their top tailback is on the shelf. Uh oh. The Sun Devils are rested, steamed after getting crushed by Georgia, and have a no-questions, veteran quarterback in Rudy Carpenter who will rip apart the Golden Bears.

Words to describe our collective performance in Week 2 escape me. I’m not entirely convinced that Pat White didn’t have a better week playing than we did picking games. Greenstein wins the week with his pick of Air Force over Wyoming, giving him the only winning record for the week. The Hall of Shame Award goes to both myself and Chris, tying with a 1-6 record for the week.

That being said, let’s hope that week 3 fares better for all of us. The slate of games is certainly much better.  Chris has decided to be bold and go completely anti-chalk.

Michigan (-1) at Notre Dame, Sat 3:30 PM NBC
Fred: If ND manages to win this – and given Michigan’s schematic problems, it wouldn’t be too shocking – this should put them on their way to a ten win season.
DanGr: I think Michigan is the better team with the better coaches and better talent. Jimmy Clausen is not going to break out against the Wolverines. To hell with Notre Dame.

#5 Ohio State (+10.5) at #1 USC, Sat 8pm ABC
DanGo: Ohio State played a rough, rough game last week against Ohio U, and the lack of Chris Wells for this game does not fare well for the Buckeyes. USC goes on a rampage at the Coliseum.

Ball State (-7) at Akron, Sat 1pm
Fred: If you say Ball State backwards, it’s pronounced “Ee-tahts Lab”. If you pronounce Akron backwards, it’s “possibly the worst team in the confernece and lacking returning starters, a decent backfield or key secondary players.” Funny, that English language.

#13 Kansas (+3.5) at #19 USF, Friday 8pm ESPN2
Fred: Despite the fall of most of the Big East, along with the ACC, USF should be a legit team this year. They return 17 starts from last year, including everyone from the offense except for their right tackle, and their defense should be solid too. Kansas looks shaky on special teams and their offensive line, so that plus the location of the game gives USF an edge.

Navy (+2.5) at Duke, Sat 12pm ESPNU
DanGo: Duke barely lost to Northwestern last week, after starting out with a dominating win over perennial FCS contender James Madison. Navy’s offense can’t seem to get off the ground, which plays right into the Blue Devils defense. Duke should match their 2004 win total after this game.

#2 Georgia (-8) at South Carolina, Sat 3:30pm CBS
DanGr: Ooh, that smell. Can’t you smell that smell? It is Chris Smelley, who may be the best of a mediocre set of quarterbacks for the Cocks. Spurrier will be none too pleased as well with his defense, which is going to get torn apart by Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford.

Bowling Green (+15) at Boise State, Sat 8pm
DanGr: If the Falcons can get smashed by Minnesota at home, how do they expect to come to the blue turf and break serve? Broncos in a walk.

Or, how Fourth and Dumb spent its summer vacation.

While you, the loyal college football fan, probably spent the summer talking about your team’s spring game, watching summer practice and probably looking over the college football guides (and hopefully checking Fourth and Dumb for updates – yeah, sorry about that), we here at 4th&D did something a little different.

We put down our keyboards, stood up, stretched, and walked out of our mothers’ basements.

That’s right. We stopped to smell the roses. We went out and got some fresh air. Some of us traveled. Some of us played quiz bowl. Some of us (heaven forbid) may have even engaged in some recreational drug use. Was it fun? You bet.

Unfortunately, it’s all a lie. Well, except for the drugs. (You know how Florida fans can be, swamp gases and all.)

One of the drawbacks of being a part-time blogger is that it’s part-time. Priorities – you know, silly things like a day job, money, etc. – get in the way. Life catches up, and the next thign you know, Bob Ley is doing an Outside the Lines episode about the Nittany Lions, totally smashing any chance you had of writing a Holding Penalty about Happy Valley. And now, here you are, prognosticating about nothing in particular, on a college football blog that’s seen fewer hits than Mister Rogers’ bong.

All that being said, I’m here to start the 2008 season off on the right foot. Prediction time!

1) Navy, Army and Notre Dame all fail to win as many games combined as the third-place Big East team.
2) Steve Spurrier spends the extra five bucks and buys the whole damn hat.
3) (This one I totally stole from Fred.) Duke fails to finish last in the ACC.
4) Neither Hawai’i nor Boise State win the WAC.
5) Charlie Weis contemplates eating Jimmy Claussen after Notre Dame cuts their food budget due to rising gas prices.

What are your predictions for the upcoming season?