Notre Dame's Michael Floyd projects to be one of the first WR's to go off the board...

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Here are some good reads from around the web about the changing landscape of college sports...

Notre Dame should jump to ACC...and fast (Dan Wetzel, Yahoo.com)
If I’m Notre Dame today, and I see the Big East in mid-implosion, see that the ACC has essentially left a spot for me (temporarily) and see the long-term demographic trends for the Midwest, I’m spending the afternoon having a long, soul-searching look in the independence mirror. And then I’m starting negotiations to join the ACC, not the Big Ten, my persistent local suitor and the one everyone assumes I’ll eventually marry...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Pac-12's decision to stay at 12 schools a good thing (Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle)
For one day, sanity ruled. Whether it'll last for a decade or an hour is beside the point. What the Pac-12's announcement that it wouldn't be expanding at this time did was force Texas and Oklahoma to reconsider their options, and to perhaps do the right thing...COMPLETE ARTICLE

College football realignment not good for game (Woody Paige, Denver Post)
ColossalConferences. The Mega4ce. The Big 16, the Pac-16, the ACC 16 and the SEC Sweet 16. The Super Sixty-Four playing to de- termine a national champion in The GARGANTU1 BOWL! hat's incredible. That's inevitable. And Colorado State, Fresno State, Iowa State and Sam Houston State are powerless to stop the future state of college football...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Big 12 needs to say ‘bye-bye’ to Beebe (Sam Mellinger, Kansas City Star)
This should be it, then. No more. The Big 12 deserves a clean break, so stop the charade and move on. And this isn’t about ending the conference, though that day may be fast approaching. This is about ending the run of commissioner Dan Beebe...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Time for 'basketball' schools to unite? (Dana O'Neil, ESPN.com)
The conference stands at its most critical crossroads, with administrators from football-only members meeting in New York City on Tuesday night and other conferences eyeing the league for more raiding. The general consensus is that to survive, the Big East has to find other football schools to bolster its ranks. But what if there was another direction? What if, instead of becoming an Ellis Island for woebegone football, the Big East went back to its roots and formed a basketball superconference...COMPLETE ARTICLE

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I still am kicking myself for going to bed before it was over...

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Many are projecting Notre Dame and former Elder Panther Kyle Rudolph as the top TE:

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Signing Day 2011 is in the books. Rivals.com rated the 25 overall classes...

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Georgia
6. LSU
7. Auburn
8. Clemson
9. Orergon
10. Notre Dame
11. Ohio State
12. Tennessee
13. Oklahoma
14. Florida
15. Nebraska
16. North Carolina
17. Cal
18. Ole Miss
19. Texas Tech
20. South Carolina
21. Michigan
22. Stanford
23. Washington
24. Arkansas
25. Virginia

COMPLETE BREAKDOWN (QueenCityHigh.com)

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For me, not a very exciting week as far as matchups go in college football. Only one game of top 25 teams and even that game (Iowa v Arizona) doesn't excite me all that much. I am very glad I decided against finishing this blog entry in time to preview the UC game. That would have been a waste. UC is quickly looking to go 1-3 after a loss to Oklahoma next Saturday. So instead of giving some in depth analysis on a handful of particular games, this week I am going to give some quick bulletpoints on what I want/expect to see this Saturday afternoon and evening as well as give some predictions on games. Next week I'll be able to go back to picking some games and going into each one. There are some really interesting games going on next week.

*If Boise St. loses at any point in their cupcake schedule it will give ESPN a lot less to talk about. I think I'll root for Wyoming today...

*It would be nice to see Texas Tech pull off the upset today. The game is at Texas Tech, under the lights? You never know...

*I dislike all teams from Florida so go Vols!

*The kid from UMass talking all kinds of smack about Michigan and the Big House is either the biggest idiot of the day or someone that will be mentioned all year if they pull off the upset...

*Denard Robinson will run for about 80yds in the 1st half and then be benched after the 2nd series in the 3rd qtr. All Heisman comments and Twitter trending topics will die down for a week...

*Notre Dame @ Michigan St. intrigues me a bit. I dislike both teams but a little part of me wants to see Coach Kelly lose to both Michigan schools...

OU- 14   OSU- 41

UMass- 17     Michigan- 38

Arkansas- 31      Georgia- 24

Florida- 24     Tennessee- 27

Notre Dame- 23      Michigan St.- 28

Iowa- 17        Arizona- 16

That's all for this week, as I look forward to next week here are some of the games I will be previewing. Bama @ Arkansas, South Carolina @ Auburn, W. Virginia @ LSU.

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Easily one of the worse stories I've had to report...

Tragedy struck St. Xavier high school and the local football community on Friday as news broke that senior Matt James, a Notre Dame-bound recruit, died after falling from a third story balcony of his Days Inn Motel on Front Beach Road at Panama City Beach, Fl during his first day of spring break.

The incident occurred 6:26 p.m. on Friday night, according to WJHG-TV. Police said the initial indications are that he died instantly. They are still investigating and said a full report should be available later.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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Here's a pretty good read on Brian Kelly's impact in South Bend...

With two of the most prolific passers in Notre Dame history in Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen, the Irish finished in the top half of the nation in time of possession in four of the five seasons under Weis.

In 2006, the Irish went 9-3 and were third in the country in time of possession at 32:51. Last season, they were 12th at 31:55.

Cincinnati, with its quick-strike offense, was dead last in the nation in time of possession in 2009 at 25:46, just as Kelly was in 2006 at Central Michigan. Despite that, the Bearcats (12-1) were fourth in the nation in scoring at 38.6 points a game. The Irish (6-6) were 32nd at 30.1 points a game.

Kelly isn't bothered by the lack of ball control.

MORE (ESPN.com)

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SI.com recently ranked the top college football hires this off-season:

Notre Dame (Brian Kelly, Cincinnati head coach): A
It seems like the most ideal match imaginable, with the school landing its first choice (for once). Kelly is Irish-Catholic, charismatic, a proven winner and practitioner of a brand of offense that's both exciting and simpler than Charlie Weis' NFL schemes. If Notre Dame fails to return to glory this time, Domers will have a hard time claiming the school hired the wrong guy.

Cincinnati (Butch Jones, Central Michigan head coach): A-
The formula worked once already. Cincinnati AD Mike Thomas replaced Kelly with the guy who replaced him at CMU three years earlier. Jones, 42, a longtime Kelly protégé who also worked under Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia, won two MAC titles in three years and has all the makings of a star. The only possible downside: He, too, will likely move upward if successful.

Kentucky (Joker Phillips, UK offensive coordinator): B+
Retired coach Rich Brooks named Phillips, 46, his successor two years ago, and the move proved prophetic. The Wildcats are enjoying a rare era of stability (four straight bowl trips), and Phillips' ascension assures continuity from the Brooks era. The Kentucky native has already helped elevate the program's talent level. Now he gets the chance to lead those players.

Louisville (Charlie Strong, Florida defensive coordinator): A+
Strong's call to the head coaching ranks was long overdue, and Louisville is a great fit. While the Cardinals had a great run of high-powered offenses under John L. Smith and Bobby Petrino, Strong, a renowned defensive whiz, could prove a great equalizer in the Big East, where there are so few top-level defenses. He should be able to recruit well and turn things around in a hurry.

COMPLETE REPORT CARD

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The Cincinnati Bearcats snapped its three-game losing streak and pulled to .500 inside Big East Conference with a 60-58 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday at Fifth Third Bank Arena.

Yancey Gates, who finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bearcats, tipped in his own miss with just two seconds left in the game to secure the victory.

The Bearcats finished the contest with a commanding 50-31 rebounding advantage, including an 18-4 edge on the offensive boards.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was scrappy.  They didn’t dominate the game, but they did hold Notre Dame 20 points below their season average.

For the Bearcats and head coach Mick Cronin though it was a win and much-needed one at that.

While many fans are growing impatient with UC and wanting to win now, questions have risen whether or not Cronin is the answer.

People need to relax for a minute and remember how much this program was crippled during the Bob Huggins transition.

I’m not saying that Cronin is free of criticism, but I do believe he still hasn’t enough time to accurately assess his progress and ability to be a successful head coach at this level.

For now, memo to Bearcat fans enjoy the victory and take it one game at a time.

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