Factoring Academics Into CFB Playoff Rankings

The folks at ESPN -- who rarely ever talk about graduation rates of college student-athletes -- created a formula called ESPN GRADE which factors in graduation rates when ranking teams. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't get any play...

Well, ESPN's Gregg Easterbrook penned this piece where he took the College Football Playoff Rankings and "mashed-up" the ESPN GRADE ranking system against their TOP 25.  Here's the new rankings of teams based on graduation rates:

LINK:  CFB PLAYOFF RANKING

Rolling Stone's Take: "Worldwide Cheerleader"

Notre Dame fans are going to want to read this article penned by the Rolling Stone's Jordan Burchette about ESPN's "cheerleading" for the SEC...

LINK:  THE WORLDWIDE CHEERLEADER

ND Go Irish Blog Follower Count: 950,000 !!!

At 11:23 PM ET last night a Notre Dame fan from Marble Falls, TX became ND GO IRISH BLOG unique follower #950,000.

Moving ever close to the ONE MILLION mark...

Thanks again for making the ND GO IRISH BLOG one of your Notre Dame stops on the worldwide web!

Notre Dame Ranked #10 in CFB Playoff Ranking

Well, the "first-ever" College Football Playoff Poll was released in the past 30 minutes and our Fighting Irish are ranked #10 -- with six weeks left in the college football season.

If you look at the rankings -- each of the "Power Five" Conferences have a team ranked ahead of Notre Dame -- is that a coincidence?  I don't think so. 

We're the "eighth best" one-loss team in the country?  Really???

Here's the TOP TWENTY-FIVE:

1.  Mississippi State
2.  Florida State
3.  Auburn
4.  Ole Miss
5.  Oregon
6.  Alabama
7.  TCU
8.  Michigan State
9.  Kansas State
10.  NOTRE DAME
11.  Georgia
12.  Arizona
13.  Baylor
14.  Arizona State
15.  Nebraska
16.  Ohio State
17.  Utah
18.  Oklahoma
19.  LSU
20.  West Virginia
21.  Clemson
22.  UCLA
23.  East Carolina
24.  Duke
25.  Louisville

LINK:  ESPN STORY

Theo Riddick Playing Ahead of Reggie Bush?

That is the question being floated around by the Detroit media these days...

The former Notre Dame student-athlete had his best game as a professional in London, England this past Sunday -- subbing for the often injured Reggie Bush.

Here's what they're saying about Theo Riddick:

LINK:  RIDDICK OVER BUSH

Instead of a College Football Playoff Ranking...

What if, the College Football Playoff Committee announced a list of the 28 teams today -- still in consideration for one of the FINAL FOUR SPOTS -- instead of a ranking?  Then, every week -- for the next six weeks -- they eliminate four more teams from the list.

So, on Tuesday, December 2nd -- the Committee would announce the list of EIGHT TEAMS still under consideration for the College Football Playoff -- with the Final Four announced on Sunday, December 7th.  The Committee would then announce their seeding of those four teams at that time.

So, here's my list of the 28 teams that would still be under consideration for the COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS on October 28, 2014:


ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE:

• Florida State
• Clemson
• Louisville
• Duke

BIG TEN CONFERENCE:

• Michigan State
• Ohio State 
• Nebraska
• Wisconsin

SEC CONFERENCE:

• Mississippi State
• Auburn
• Alabama
• Georgia
• Ole Miss 
• Missouri

PAC-12 CONFERENCE:

• Oregon
• Arizona State
• Utah
• UCLA
• Arizona

BIG-12 CONFERENCE:

• TCU
• Kansas State
• Baylor
• Oklahoma

 AT-LARGE:

• Notre Dame
• East Carolina
• Marshall
• Colorado State
• North Dakota State

Navy Week: Coach Kelly Press Conference

Notre Dame fans can tune-in LIVE at NOON ET today to watch Coach Kelly's press conference.  He'll be addressing another Fighting Irish PRIME TIME contest this Saturday night against the Naval Academy.

Just click on the link below:

LINK:  COACH KELLY

Enter the Notre Dame Pumpkin Carving Contest

Do you have some "mad skills" as a pumpkin carver?  Well, if you do -- now's your chance to show them off!

College Football Playoff Poll Released: 7:30 PM

The "first-ever" College Football Playoff Rankings will be released today  at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.  This poll, which is the work of a 12 person committee, will lead to a FINAL FOUR which will be unveiled on December 7th.

Here's what a few of the media prognosticators are thinking how the Committee will rank the teams -- and what to look for this evening:

LINK:  DETROIT FREE PRESS

LINK:  BIRMINGHAM (AL) NEWS

LINK:  CBS SPORTS

LINK:  YAHOO! SPORTS

LINK:  NEW YORK POST

Photos From Notre Dame's Campus in October

Took a walk around the University of Notre Dame campus this evening and took these photos with my iPhone...

MUST SEE: Navy's "Beat Notre Dame" Video

I don't think we'll be seeing any Notre Dame students doing something like this for a game against Navy.

However, this is really good...

BRAVO!!!

LINK:  BEAT NOTRE DAME

NFL Teams With Three + Domers on Payroll...

There are five teams in the NFL that have at least three former Notre Dame student-athletes on their payroll this morning -- and they are a combined 26 - 13 this season...

• ARIZONA CARDINALS:  6 - 1
• DETROIT LIONS:  6 - 2
• NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS:  6 - 2
• SAN DIEGO CHARGERS:  5 - 3
• MINNESOTA VIKINGS:  3 - 5

Four of the five would be in the NFL Playoffs if they started this week -- do you think some NFL General Managers are taking notice?

ARIZONA CARDINALS

• Michael Floyd
• Jon Carlson
• Robert Hughes
• Troy Niklas

DETROIT LIONS

• Golden Tate
• Theo Riddick
• T.J. Jones
• Joseph Fauria -- he transferred out of ND

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

• Jonas Gray
• Darius Fleming
• Kona Schwenke

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

• Chris Watt
• Manti Te'o
• Trevor Robinson

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

• Harrison Smith
• R.J. Blanton
• Kyle Rudolph
• John Sullivan

That's DOMERS Michael Floyd and Robert Hughes in the photo above.

Notre Dame Moves Up to #6 in AP Poll

The AP Poll and the Amway Coaches Poll were released today and Ole Miss' loss to LSU moves the Fighting Irish up one spot in each poll.

The poll that counts -- the College Playoff Poll will be released this Tuesday, October 28th at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.

LINK:  POLLS WEEK 10

Two Domers Score TD's Today in London!

Former Notre Dame student-athletes Golden Tate (#15) and Theo Riddick (#25) led a huge Detroit Lions' second half comeback today -- scoring the FIRST TWO TD's EVER by former Notre Dame players in England!  Golden led the Lions with seven catches for 151 yards and the TD!

Be sure to check out Theo's GREAT CATCH -- on the game winning drive!

The Lions erased a 21 - 0 halftime deficit to win the game 22 - 21 on a last second 48 yard field goal!

LINK:  GOLDEN'S TD

LINK:  RIDDICK'S TD

LINK:  RIDDICK'S GREAT CATCH

LINK:  GOLDEN'S POST GAME INTERVIEW

My "Great" Uncle Tom's Stained Glass Talent!

My great-uncle Tom Fries, made this piece of stained-glass for my uncle R.J. and it hangs in honor at Gilbert Creek Ranch in Mecosta, MI.  My cousins' hunting compound in the mid-Michigan area...

You'll find a group their most Saturday's in the Fall watching the Fighting Irish on TV -- now they can watch them out the window too!

Uncle Tom is in his 80's and he's still knocking out these incredible stained glass pieces of art as gifts for family and friends.  He also has a great talent for singing an Irish song or two...

He's been a wonderful GIFT to our family!

Notre Dame Football's "Mid-Term" Report Card

Rachel Terlep -- the Notre Dame beat writer for the Elkhart Truth offered up her "grades" on the Fighting Irish's performance over the first seven games of the season.  Just click on the links below:

LINK:  DEFENSIVE GRADES

LINK:  OFFENSIVE GRADES

SBT: Areas Notre Dame Needs to Improve

The South Bend Tribune's Notre Dame beat writer Eric Hansen authored a piece today on where the Fighting Irish need to improve on the most over the last five games of the season to be a "legitimate" Playoff contender:

LINK:  CONTENDER

OT: Izzo Has Some Fun in East Lansing Tonight

Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo -- dressed up like a member of the band KISS -- as the Spartans celebrated the start of the 2014 - 2015 college basketball season this evening in East Lansing...

I wish we could create a night like this in South Bend.

LINK:  IZZO'S KISS

LINK:  VIDEO OF PERFORMANCE

LINK:  STORY

Golden Tate & Reggis Bush: London Dance Off

Former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate and one-time Heisman Trophy recipient Reggie Bush -- hosted a dance competition in London.  The Domer and his teammates take on the Atlanta Falcons in the UK on Sunday...

LINK:  WATCH IT HERE

A Great Notre Dame Fighting Irish Pumpkin!

My wife Susan Small has an incredible art talent...

Here's one of her latest efforts.