Game of the Week

Connecticut @ Notre Dame 2:30pm, 21 November, ABC

For the second straight week, I'm forced to write about Notre Dame... urghhh, I think I just threw up a little. While this game doesn't have any impact on the outlook of the Big East, neither do the other two games being played on Saturday. So when the games don't matter much to the conference picture, you're forced to look at the big stories and controversy in the news. The match up between the Huskies and the Irish has both.

Game time question for Connecticut:

With 3 games remaining in the season, how will the Huskies be defined?

The nation is still patiently waiting for Connecticut to have their bounce back win after losing defensive back Jasper Howard. I know it seems that I'm beating a dead horse having talked about the need for a win the past three weeks, but UCONN needs to show the nation and more importantly themselves that they have pulled together and healed. The last second loss to Rutgers and the down to the wire loss to Cincinnati were gut wrenching for any college football fan to have watched, and when the clocks hit zero it seemed that the Huskies had once again lost more than just a couple of games.

Connecticut is a great football team. Sure they're not competing for national titles, but the players in their program seems to have a tighter bond than those playing for big time programs. With only three games remaining they are quickly running out of time to pull off a season defining win. With most analyst ruling them out against Notre Dame this weekend, the Huskies are left with conference games against Syracuse and South Florida. A win over either of these teams is completely possible and would finally allow them closure. I'll be pulling for them this weekend and not just because they're playing Weis' clowns.

For Connecticut to have a chance this weekend, they'll need to establish the run. Notre Dame has yet to prove they can efficiently stop the run game with loss to Pitt and Navy. If the Huskies can dominate on the line and punish the Irish up the middle, then they stand a very good chance of scoring enough points to pull off an upset. Carrying the ball will be both Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon who have combined for over 1500 yards rushing on the season. Both these running backs should break the 1000 yard point by season's end.

Game time advice for Connecticut:

Don't get beat by the long ball.

Navy defended the Notre Dame offense perfectly, and any team looking to keep the Irish in check needs to watch the film from that game. The Midshipmen recognized their secondary couldn't compete one on one down field with the Irish receivers, so they simple played a soft zone and allowed the Irish the 4-7 yard receptions. Connecticut will need big games out of defensive backs Robert Vaughn and Robert McClain both having 4 interceptions on the year.

Game time question for Notre Dame:

I don't want to waste my time talking about the Irish only to reiterate what everyone else is saying. I will say this though. I hope Notre Dame decides to stick with Charlie Weis so I can enjoy another season of Notre Dame mediocrity. I find it ridiculous that Notre Dame gets special consideration by the BCS and I would argue that college football has done just fine without a competitive Irish team.

When the dust settles:

In the middle of a two week skid on picking games involving the Irish, I'm not sure how much you want to rely on my pick here. I am again going with the Irish to win. At the end of the day, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are terrific players and any quarterback surround by them should look like a Heisman candidate. Again, Connecticut will keep this game closer than it should be. Unfortunately, the talk will once again be about how Notre Dame is under performing and not about the quality play of their opponents. I hate you Notre Dame.

Prediction: Notre Dame 31 - Connecticut 27

The Undercards

Rutgers @ Syracuse 3:30pm, 21 November, ESPN360.com

Similar to last season, Rutgers is finishing the season red hot. Their only two losses have been to BCS top 10 opponents in conference. Not to mention, one was in the first week before they had settled their quarterback controversy. Syracuse seems to be the polar opposite to the Scarlet Knights. The Orangemen opened the season 2-2 but have since dropped 4 of their last 5. In this game, I would expect more of the same from both teams.

Prediction: Rutgers 38 - Syracuse 17

Louisville @ South Florida 12:00pm, 21 November, Big East Network

Nostalgia time... Remember when the country thought B.J. Daniels was the greatest thing to happen to South Florida since Matt Grothe? Well we couldn't have been more wrong. While Daniels still has 3 three years to develop, he definitely isn't the quarterback we all thought he was on day one against Florida State. Fortunately, the Bulls have a defense which can keep them in the game against the Cardinals. A wise fellow once told me to bank on the Bulls in the warm weather. Well they're playing at home in November so the game should go their way.