It may be head coach Brian Kelly’s first year at the helm, but positive change is already tangible. While the 2008 and 2009 Irish squads finished 1-8 in November, this year’s unit went 3-0. It isn’t time to anoint Kelly the next Lou Holtz or Ara Parseghian, but Notre Dame played its best football down […]

Editor’s note: The previous week’s results can be found here: week 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6. The dust has settled on the 2011 season, and the Auburn Tigers came out on top. It was quite the turnaround for head coach Gene Chizik. Auburn finished the 2009 season in relatively pedestrian […]

Editor’s note: Special thanks to ESP and AVR co-creator Vincenzo Siciliano for his effort in the work outlined below. He did the analysis, I just made a few observations and wrote up this summary. Disclaimer #1: The following is not intended for betting purposes. Disclaimer #2: The following analysis does not include the Army—Navy game […]

Editor’s note: Be sure to check back for the final installment of the ESP when the final AV Ranking (AVR) will be used to predict the bowl game outcomes. The previous week’s results can be found here: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6. The season ended with three undefeated teams but only […]

There was some shuffling atop the polls and the AVR this week as three teams—Boise State, LSU, and Oklahoma State —in last week’s ESP top 10 lost. The Broncos fell one spot in the AVR but fell more sharply in both the AP and Coaches Polls dropping five spots in the former and seven in […]

The Irish host 15th ranked Utah Saturday in the first ever meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame limps into the contest off a bye week at 4-5, and with a rash of injuries to key personnel including quarterback Dayne Crist and several of his primary targets. The last two outings—a decisive loss to Navy […]

As noted prior to the season, Clashmore Mike has the honor of hosting the Irish Blogger Gathering (IBG) for the bye week/Utah game. For those unfamiliar with the IBG, check out some previous additions (in order of opponent) hosted by UHND, Her Loyal Sons, Inside The Irish, One Foot Down, Domer Law, Irish Round Table, We Never […]

A home loss to a non-BCS conference opponent is always tough. But off the heels of a blowout defeat at the hands of the Midshipmen, it hurts even worse. The 2010 Fighting Irish are beginning to look a lot like the previous two versions. Perhaps the most distinguishable characteristic of the past two teams has […]

Another week, another series of undefeated and highly ranked teams falling victim to the upset bug. Ohio State, downed by the Badgers in Madison. Nebraska, done in by a swarming Longhorn defense that allowed a long gain of 14 yards on the ground. South Carolina, outscored 21-0 in the second half by Kentucky after going […]

What a weekend to release rankings. Number one Alabama falls to South Carolina, LSU hands the Gators their second consecutive loss in what can only be described as Milesian fashion, Michigan State’s defense contains Denard Robinson en route to thumping rival Michigan, Oregon State upsets Arizona on the road, and Stanford finishes off the Trojans […]