What does it mean for the Irish?

It means Head Coach Brian Kelly and our defense will have to handle one more year of Matt. He is a smart quarterback that has made major progress. Notre Dame will have to travel into Los Angelos knowing that they have beaten this kid before, but he also knows what it takes to beat us. It will definitely make it a very interesting rivalry game.

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Don't be alarmed or confused about the photo. This fabulous picture came up when I typed in "love" to the Yardbarker Image Search. It's too good not to share. This beautiful woman looks like a candy corn, or the real Red Hot Chili Pepper.

After last night’s dramatic victory over USC, I’m sure you’re eager to read and discuss the game and the Notre Dame football team as much as possible. I know I am. I stayed up into the wee hours of the night, reading every game story, every column, every comment about Notre Dame and the Fall of Troy.

My gift to you, dear reader(s) (goddamnit, I hope its plural) is that I delved into the never-ending stream of stories and picked out the best ones for your perusal.

 But before we get to the links, allow me an aside on the wonderful play of Brian Smith and be sure to click the link to Wes Morgan’s fantastic feature on Smith.

 Before the season, I was furious with Coach Kelly for taking Smith out of the starting lineup. Last season, he was our best defender, and that’s including Te’o. Nobody could convince me Darius Fleming and Carlo Calabrese were better than him all of the sudden.

With Calabrese injured for the Utah game, Smith finally played the majority of the snaps  and he’s quickly proven me right. Smith had 10 tackles and two pass deflections against Utah. Last night, Smith was all over the field. I haven’t been able to find defensive stats for the game yet, but I do know Smith was largely responsible for getting the offense the ball back before the half when Rees engineered a 37-second touchdown drive.  Smith stuffed Stanley Havili on third down and short, then knocked down Mustain’s pass on fourth down to secure the ball for the Irish. Smith and Te’o anchored the defense, stuffing the run and forcing Mustain to beat them–he didn’t.

Enough of my Brian Smith rant though, on to the links! (more…)

(Source: Yardbarker.com)

Senior Rober Hughes willed his way into the end zone for the game-winning score with 2:23 left and Notre Dame finally beat Southern California, 20-16, at a rain-soaked Los Angeles Coliseum Saturday night.

The win was Notre Dame’s first win against the Trojans since 2001, after which they suffered eight consecutive defeats. Brian Kelly became the first coach since Lou Holtz in 1986 to defeat USC in his first attempt. (more…)