Notre Dame Moves Up to #8 in Coaches Poll

Well, in just a little more than two weeks time -- our Fighting Irish have moved up from #16 in the college football rankings to #8...

LINK:  LATEST RANKING

OT: FSU Head Coach's Prepared Statement

After #1 Florida State's thrilling OT win last night over Clemson -- head coach Jimbo Fisher read a prepared statement.  He strayed a little from the script when he made this declaration at the 1:14 mark of the press conference:

"When your players misstep, you balance education, which we do a lot more than anybody in America, as much as anybody in America..."

Now I must admit, I don't know what "balance education" means -- but, I trust Coach Fisher wasn't referring to the graduation rate of his football players at Florida State University -- this is from the NCAA and a recent University of Pennsylvania study:

• Florida State -- all football players:  55% graduation rate
• Florida State -- black male football players:  37% graduation rate

LINK:  COACH FISHER PRESSER

LINK:  STORY ON BLACK ATHLETES' GRADUATION RATES

PHOTO: The End of Michigan's Game vs. Utah

A long thunderstorm delay combined with a lackluster performance by the Wolverines -- led Michigan fans to head home by the "tens of thousands" with almost 8 minutes left in the game...

Domer Dad Has Sixth Straight Multi-Hit Game!

Torii Hunter Sr., Detroit Tiger outfielder and father of Notre Dame student-athlete Torri Jr., had his sixth straight game where he had two or more hits!!!  The first time in his career!

Torri's first hit was a home run -- his 17th of the season -- as the Tigers beat Kansas City 3 - 2 to take a 2 1/2 game lead with 8 games left in the season.  Detroit's "magic number" is now 6 games!

LINK:  DOMER DAD'S HOMER!

OT: The Best QB You've Never Heard About?

Since the Fighting Irish aren't playing today -- I'm driving up to Big Rapids, MI to see "my" Ferris State Bulldogs take on "Brian Kelly's" Grand Valley State Lakers tonight in a battle for the "Anchor-Bone" Trophy.

The Bulldogs -- ranked #16 in the country, NCAA Division II -- are led by a 6'-4" 241 lb. "bulldozer" of a QB named Jason Vander Laan.  The junior is a favorite to win Division II's "Heisman Trophy" -- the HARLAN HILL TROPHY -- coming off a sophomore season where he had these crazy stats:

• 1,607 yards rushing -- ALL-TIME RECORD FOR A QB IN DIV. II
• 1,493 yards passing
• 29 TDs -- 13 passing / 16 rushing

You're going to want to watch his highlight reel!

LINK:  JASON VANDER LAAN -- HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  STORY

Justin & Lauran Tuck -- Their R.U.S.H. Initiative

Former Notre Dame defensive end Justin Tuck and his wife Lauran have a charity by the name of R.U.S.H. which stands for:  Read, Understand, Succeed and Hope for Literacy.  Here's what they were up to this week in Oakland...

LINK:  THE TUCK'S

Jerome Bettis Making A Difference in Pittsburgh

Former Notre Dame running back Jerome Bettis continues to do his adopted home of Pittsburgh -- right.  Here's what he's up to now...

That's Jerome above giving Ed Stack (Chairman of Dick's Sporting Goods) his Jerome Bettis Humanitarian Award.

LINK:  JEROME BETTIS

Domer Jake Golic Talks ND Reunion This Week

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Jake Golic was asked about this Saturday's game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Miami Redhawks -- a game featuring many former players and coaches with ties to the Fighting Irish...

LINK:  JAKE GOLIC

Unique Insurance Plan for College Playoff Fans

I received an email from former Notre Dame quarterback Steve Beurlein the other day -- alerting me to a new company called TickAssure! that he's associated with...

Here's how it works -- you can buy a TickAssure! Ticket Protection Plan for your favorite team (THE FIGHTING IRISH).  Then, when Notre Dame advances to the college football playoff semifinals and championship game, purchase your game tickets from a National Association of Ticket Broker-member.

TickAssure! will then refund you the difference of the cost of the tickets you purchased and the face value of those tickets --- up to $2,000 a ticket for the National Championship game or $750 a ticket for the Semi-Final game.

As of 7:45 PM ET this evening - here was the cost of a TickAssure policy for Notre Dame tickets:

• $122.27 for the SEMI-FINAL GAME
• $160.43 for the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

PLEASE NOTE -- TICKASSURE! IS NOT ASSOCIATED, NOR IS IT ENDORSED -- BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

LINK:  TICKASSURE!

Brady Quinn's Broadcasting Debut for Fox

Former Notre Dame All-American Brady Quinn made his broadcasting debut this past Saturday night in Texas...

Quinn did the "analysis" work alongside Tim Brando in Fox's college football telecast of TCU'S 30 - 7 win over Minnesota.

Here's the story:

LINK:  QUINN IN BROADCAST BOOTH

Zack Martin '13 Earning Praise from Cowboys!

Former Notre Dame offensive tackle Zack Martin is turning heads with the Dallas Cowboys -- the right guard is earning high praise from teammates and coaches alike.  Click on the links below:

LINK:  MARTIN IS BETTER...

LINK:  MEDIA INTERVIEW

The Minnesota Vikings' "Emerging Star"

A nice story about former Notre Dame Football Captain Harrison Smith who's becoming quite a player for the Minnesota Vikings.

"One of the best in the game..."

I missed reporting on his 81 yard interception TD return -- see the video link below -- analysis provided for former Notre Dame linebacker Pete Berchich:

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH

LINK:  INTERCEPTION RETURN FOR TD

NFL Domers Bruton & Watt Visit Schools Today

A couple of former Fighting Irish student-athletes were visiting schools today (on their day off) representing their NFL teams -- and always Notre Dame.  The Denver Broncos David Bruton visited Aurora West College Prep Academy and the Charger's Chris Watt visited the King-Chavez Academy of Excellence in San Diego.

Not surprised these NFL teams select Domers for gigs like this!

Just click on the links below to learn more about Bruton's and Watt's respective visits to these two schools:

LINK:  DAVID BRUTON'S SCHOOL VISIT

LINK:  CHRIS WATT'S SCHOOL VISIT

Alabama Fan Scarborough Praises Notre Dame

The crew at NBC's The Mornin' Joe spent a great deal of time today talking about how the NFL has handled the Ray Rice matter...

Joe Scarborough -- host of the show and admitted diehard Alabama fan -- threw a huge compliment this morning to the University of Notre Dame during the discussion.

Click on the link below and fast forward the video to around the 8:45 mark...

LINK:  BAMA FAN -- SHOWS ND SOME RESPECT

Domer Hannah Storm Reacts to NFL / Ray Rice

Notre Dame alumna Hannah Storm '83, spoke out on the air this week about the NFL and their handling of the Ray Rice situation...

MUST SEE!

LINK:  HANNAH STORM

Dan Fox Put on New York Giants Active Roster!

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Dan Fox was placed on the New York Giants 53 man roster today!!!  This is great news for the 'un-drafted' free agent!

Very happy for Dan!

LINK:  FOX

Must Read: Story on Notre Dame's Coach Alford

Tony Alford is about as genuine as they come...

I just ran across this wonderful story on the UND.COM site about Coach Alford -- it's a must read!

LINK:  ALL FOR FAMILY

Irish Connection: Overcoming Adversity Part I

The first two games for the Fighting Irish this season offered zero adversity for our football team...

That changed in the 2nd quarter of Saturday night's game with Purdue.  An ejection, multiple injuries and two TD's for the Boilermakers put the IRISH behind on the scoreboard for the first time this season.

Here's an "insider's look...

LINK:  IRISH CONNECTION

Is a NFL Gig in the Future for this Domer?

Condoleezza Rice's '75, name is being thrown around as a possible candidate to come in to replace embattled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

See the story:

LINK:  COMMISSIONER CONDI?

Notre Dame Ranked #10 in Ranking of Colleges

A story ran in USA Today last week (a ND GO IRISH BLOG regular in Utica, NY by the name of Peter Karl '75 -- President of the Notre Dame Club of Mohawk Valley -- reminded me that I missed this!) that ranked the University of Notre Dame as the 10th best college in America!

Peter, thanks for keeping me on my toes!

Here's the story:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME #10