Who made Notre Dame's football schedule this year?

"Why are we playing Oklahoma this year?" asks the leprechaun.

Year in and year out, we hear a lot of propaganda about Notre Dame's football team playing the toughest schedule in the country.  Many years, that is overblown, but not this year.  The schedule maker did not do the team any favors because the Fighting Irish play some whopper games this year.  At least one preseason publication rates their schedule as the toughest in the nation.

Notre Dame plays:  Sept. 1 vs. Navy (in Ireland), Sept. 8 vs. Purdue, Sept. 15 at Michigan State, Sept. 22 vs. Michigan, Oct. 6 vs. Miami, Fla., (in Chicago), Oct. 13 vs. Stanford, Oct. 20 vs. Brigham Young, Oct. 27 at Oklahoma, Nov. 3 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 10 at Boston College, Nov. 17 vs. Wake Forest, Nov. 24 at USC.

In Notre Dame's favor is that they only play four true road games.  Another two are on neutral fields though those should be considered home games.  Seriously, can anyone argue with a straight face that playing Navy in Ireland is a neutral site for both teams?  Additionally, playing Miami in Chicago is like playing in their own backyard.  Chicago is Notre Dame country and Miami does not bring a lot of fans on the road (or at home for that matter).

Still, there are no games that can be considered 'gimmies' on the schedule. September tests include a road game at Michigan State and at home against Michigan.  The Big 10 is consistently the most overrated conference in the nation. However, both those teams are formable foes.  October's highlights include a home game against Stanford and a road game at Oklahoma. Stanford has been highly ranked the last two seasons, but may see a slight drop off this year.  Oklahoma is consistently one of the top programs in the nation.

Notre Dame closes out the regular season at USC.  The Trojans are considered by many to be the top team in the nation and are ranked third in the preseason coaches' poll.

From top to bottom, this is a strong schedule.  The only minor criticism is that they play no teams from the Southeastern Conference.  It is difficult to consider their schedule the toughest in the nation if they do not play any teams from the toughest conference.  Still, there is no way to know if that was Notre Dame's choice or that no SEC teams would play them.

Based on this schedule, getting to 10 wins would have to be considered a tremendous accomplishment for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame football facing win-or-else season in 2009

This year all the excuse making will end for Notre Dame football. The Fighting Irish returns a ton of experience from last year's team. Depending on which depth chart a person goes by, they will return at least nine starters on offense and seven on defense.

The big question is whether or not this experience will result in more success on the field. Though last year's team took a step forward, the season did not live up to the tradition of the program. When I think of Notre Dame football, I don't think about trips to the Hawaii Bowl and 7-6 records. However, after the debacle of 2007, any improvement must have looked good to fans.

Will Jimmy Clausen blossom into a first-rate quarterback? It remains to be seen. When I watch him, he reminds me a lot of his brother Casey who played at Tennessee. Casey was a solid but underrated quarterback, playing in the tough SEC. However, I don't see Notre Dame fans being satisfied with Clausen becoming just a solid quarterback.

Head Coach Charlie Weis is facing a turning point. All he has proven during his tenure is that he was able to win with Tyrone Willingham's players. With Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer openly saying that Notre Dame is his dream job, Weis has to win this year. Meyer is the best head coach of this decade, if not this era. When somebody of his caliber says that, it gets noticed.

So, what will Charlie Weis become? Will he become the coach that leads the blue and gold back to national prominence this year? Or will he go down in history as another Gerry Faust who was a pretty good coach clearly over his head at Notre Dame?

Here is the schedule:

Sept. 5: vs. Nevada
Sept. 12: at Michigan
Sept. 19: vs. Michigan State
Sept. 26: at Purdue
Oct. 3: vs. Washington
Oct. 17: vs. USC
Oct. 24: vs. Boston College
Oct. 31: vs. Washington State (at San Antonio, Texas)
Nov. 7: vs. Navy
Nov. 14: at Pittsburgh
Nov. 21: vs. Connecticut
Nov. 28: at Stanford

Now is the time for Notre Dame to win nine games.

However, I don't see it happening.

Notre Dame facing intense pressure in season opener against San Diego State

Of all college football teams, Notre Dame might be the happiest to see the start of the 2008 season finally arrive. I won't re-hash last season's nightmare, but it was one for the record books for all the wrong reasons. There is no way to sugarcoat it: the Irish stank.

On Saturday, Notre Dame hosts San Diego State and will begin to answer questions left after last year's debacle. Is Jimmy Clausen really a top notch quarterback that can lead a big-time program? Can the offensive line block anybody? Can Charlie Weis really develop collegiate talent?

While San Diego State appears to be the right type of opponent Notre Dame needs to begin a comeback season, I'm not so sure. The Aztecs only won four games last year in a weak conference and return 12 starters. However, intangibles may play a big part in this game.

I believe the Irish will win, but don't underestimate the pressure this team is under. Fans and media are looking for evidence that last season was only a blip on the radar. San Diego State is a team Notre Dame should destroy, but the team's fragile ego may crack if it gets off to a slow start.

Notre Dame fans must remain realistic. This is a team that will have to take baby steps before getting up to speed. There will be no quick cure after last season and anybody expecting that is not being realistic.

This team needs time to grow. If that doesn't happen, they may crumble.

Be patient.

ESPN's 25-hour pregame show another example of overkill

ESPN's decision to air a 25-hour pregame show in advance of Thursday's LSU-Mississippi State football game can only be described as overkill. What is the point of this? I enjoy college football probably more than the average person, but the prospect of spending 25 hours with all of ESPN's college football talking heads makes my head woozy just thinking about it.

The marathon begins on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT and will continue until game time the following evening at 7 p.m. CT. Given ESPN's penchant for favoritism, this program has a chance to be a real train wreck. Even though it is leading up to a Southeastern Conference game, I find it hard to believe that they will not spend a substantial amount of time flogging their pet teams and conferences.

Just imagine how many times they will mention Ohio State and Michigan or imply that the Big 10 conference has the football credentials of a conference the caliber of the SEC. ESPN definitely has a raging love for the Big 10.

Or, how many times will Lou Holtz sing the praises of South Carolina and Notre Dame, both of which are places he coached at? Or, how about Lee Corso talking up his beloved Florida State. Or, how about Kirk Herbstreit singing about his alma mater Ohio State.

I know this is only sports, but I don't think it is asking too much for the most prominent sports network to at least keep up the pretense of objectivity when it comes to their reporting and commentary. However, that does not happen. Commentators openly campaign for programs that they have connections to.

I may watch a little bit of this program, but I can't imagine spending much time with it. College football is special, but some folks want to exploit it until it is worn into a fine powder. It's too much, too soon in the year.