THE BODOGS ARE BARKIN: RELOADED

My gambling brethren: we're back. Better than ever? Settle down, let's be reasonable with the expectations.

We've got some rules tweaks to make it interesting:

Maximum of $200 bet per week.

You can only go "All In" ($125 or more) 1 time during the regular season.

You must bet a minimum of 4 games.

You must bet wherever College Gameday is and feature it as the game of the week.

Moneyline bets max of $40 (We call this The "Hinkle is bitter about Chuck's Tulsa ML victory last year" Rule)

Gambling Playoffs! (It's like the FedEx Cup! Except more likable and makes less sense.)

You must be in the black to qualify.

Week 1 we will play the regular season rules. Two Highest totals advance to week 2.

Week 2 we will keep the rules the same as regular season.

Championship:

Must make 4 bets on the National Title Game (prop, moneyline, total, spread, half, quarters, game...etc)

$300 Bankroll

Got it? Good. ON TO THE PICKS!!!!!

Mattare

Fresh off a ridiculous comeback in the last six weeks of the season, I am back to defend my crown as the greatest gambler on this prolific website.

1. Alabama (-10) over Penn State...$44 for $40

Billy Boy is going to be in Happy Valley to witness what is sure to be an ass-whooping for the ages. All the white tee wearing fans in Pennsylvania won't be able to keep the Nittanys close in this one, because screaming loud doesn't get your team first downs. Bama by 21.

2. Boston College (+7) over UCF...$33 for $30

Everyone likes to hate on BC, but this spread is too much to pass up. The Fighting George O'Leary's may win this game, but Fredo will find a way to grind it out and keep it close.

3. Virginia (-6.5) over Indiana...$33 for $30

Two reasons for this pick. First is that good coaches usually take big steps in their second year in a program. I think Mike London is a very, very good coach. Second, Indiana is so bad. So, so, so bad.

4. Notre Dame (-3) over Michigan....$66 for $60

Guess what? The Irish are bouncing back and they're bouncing back in a convincing fashion. The only hope Michigan has is the 'Nard Dog going off--which, of course, you can't rule out. The Irish are a legitimate top ten outfit if they play smart football. The Skunkbears are a mediocre team at best if they pitch a perfect game.

Mikey

All lines from covers.com.

1. Mississippi St. (-6.5) over Auburn...$66 to win $60

The Bulldogs are looking gooood and are my big sleeper for the SEC this season. Auburn is still ranked somehow but should have lost to Utah St. last week at home- a rather unimpressive start. I think Miss. St. makes their first statement this weekend when they take on a Tigers team that lost nearly every key component from last year's title run.

2. Oregon St. (+20.5) over Wisconsin...$33 to win $30

If there was one game I wish I could've seen last week it was Sacramento St. beating Oregon St. College sports is all about the upset baby and that one came out of nowhere for the Beavers, who were probably looking forward to this weeks matchup at Wisconsin. Well if they're going to put all their eggs into the beating Wisconsin basket I think they'll keep it within the points and wake up from the trance that allowed them to lose so badly. The Badgers are a very good team with Russell Wilson running the show now but they've got to come back to Earth from that beatdown they laid on UNLV a week ago.

3. Virginia (-6.5) over Indiana...$77 to win $70

I'll be at this game on Saturday in Bloomington so it was a must pick. Have no clue who's on either of these team, who coaches them or even how to get to the stadium but if UVA is favored by almost a TD on the road they must be the much better team. Rock solid logic, bet your shirt on this one.

4. GAME O' THE WEEK Michigan (+3.5) over ND..$33 to win $30

This is a bet against Notre Dame rather than one for Michigan. The Irish fall flat every single time you think they have the pieces and are going to be relevant in the national title scene (that should make this site's readers happy). Last week proved to be the same story with the boneheaded loss to So. Fla. and I don't think it will end there as they go on the road to face Michigan in a heated rivalry game. Brian Kelly's face will be even redder than last week as they go down in Ann Arbor and he names Dayne Crist his week 3 starter.

Hinkle

To all my fans around the world, I AM BACK, live from Tucson, AZ............

.....With a vengeance. After a runaway season last year capped off by a a ridiculous "Bowl Season" which cost me the throne, I am poised to take the title this year. New rules in place to regulate the outlandishness we saw last year will not happen. Your champ will give you winners each and every week. No chasing, no craziness, just a steady diet of winners.

Obviously, college football is back. Same great game with the same great standard results. Examples.

1. Notre Dame chocking at home and me having to send Mattare what seems to be my standard weekly "checking for a pulse" text to make sure he did not commit suicide over another devastating loss. Don't worry ND nation I am sure you can still go 12-1 since for the "x" year in a row all I heard from the media and your fans is "this is our year".

2. Boise State wins ANOTHER big game, this time versus the SEC. Now what? Ohhh okay haters Georgia isn't that good? SEC East contenders to start the year ranked in the top 20. I get they don't play an SEC season, but give my boy Kellen Moore some credit. Does he throw incomplete passes? I really hope they run the table this year and get a shot at the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, or Oregon (2-0). I mean come on, who doesn't want to see what would happen?

I said my peace with those two teams...now on to Week 1 picks from scoresandodds.com

1. Arizona @ Oklahoma State OVER 66...($55 win $50)

My boys in the backyard exploded on offense last week. Nick Foles put up Kellen Moore like numbers throwing for 80+% and 5TD's. Oklahoma State put up a huge 61 spot in week one while giving up 31 to an offense no where near the capability of the Wildcats. I look for both teams to drive up and down the field with a ton of big plays. Should be an entertaining game to watch on commericals of Saints/Packers. TONS of points!

2. Alabama (-10) @ PSU...($44 win $40)

I had the awful pleasure of watching PSU last week on the Big Ten network. Their QB play is worse than any I saw coaching in the Colonial League last year. Seriously, who is their QB? If I was starting a team, I would not want any of them to run my scout team. Inconsistency all over the board. Are they going to split time again? If one gets the nod, they will be playing with their eyes over their shoulder, not on the defense. No chance PSU hangs in this game at all.

3. Mississippi States (-6.5) @ Auburn...($33 win $30)

I really do not think Auburn will finish above .500 this year. Cam Newton was Auburn. No Cam is like no Peyton Manning (gulp). Last week vs. Utah State they made so many mistake that will not allow them to stay competitive in the SEC week in and week out. They got embarrassed. Winning in the last 3 minutes as a defending champion in that fashion is absurd. I will lay the points in a game that is a double digit loss, the first of several, for the Tigers of Auburn.

4. Game of the Week: ND -3 @ Meeeeeeeeeechagin...($66 win $60)

Tommy Rees is a solid QB. I was impressed by his play last week and if he would have been under center the whole game I think they win the game. Red zone turnovers are the death of any team, but I still think Rees has the "it" factor that the Irish need to be successful this year. Michigan won a sloppy, rain filled, ugly, delayed, I don't know what in the world that was but I am not sold on their play. Some big plays versus a directional Michigan team doesn't tell me much. Coach BK MUST have said "F#%$" at least 25 times on national television so I can only imagine the ear raping they took all week. If the Irish do not come out and dominate this game, and for some reason lose, OMGGGGGGGGGG! I do not even want to know what will happen. I like the Irish in this spot a ton. They would have been a play for me even if they were not the site of Gameday in Ann Arbor. I mean come on, even they play with half the intensity as their fans do in "Full Beer Flip Cup", this game should be over by half!

Chuck

This week's slate of games are like the collection of girls you find at a local sportsbar. There aren't many of them, they're haggard around the edges, and often already taken. But after hanging around for a while and sloshing through $1 PBR drafts, you find that one girl who you're going to try and go home with despite her bountiful gut, cankles, and Eli Manning jersey. Auburn: do you wanna come back to my place and have a drink?

1. Arizona (+14) @ Oklahoma St...$33 to win $30

The scoreboard will be lit up like the Fourth of July in Stillwater on Thursday night. Everybody knows about the prolific Weedon to Blackmon connection for the Pokes, but don’t forget about Nick Foles and Juron Criner who connected for 151 of Foles’ 412 passing yards in opening week trouncing of Northern Arizona. I fully expect the Pokes to win this one, but I like the Cats and the points.

2. Mississippi St. @ Auburn (+7)...$66 to win $60

Before everybody piles on me for this pick, yes, I did watch Auburn against Utah State on Saturday. To put it politely, they did not deserve to win that game. But they did, and that seems to be the M.O. of Auburn under Gene Chizik. After a slow start, their offense heated up and moved the ball well in the second half. Barrett Trotter looked capable of making plays in the pocket, and you know Gus Malzahn will have a solid game plan dialed up for their SEC opener.

Mississippi State got their season started by handling one of the worst teams in the FBS, Memphis. Not much stock should be placed in this game, and I am interested to see how the Bulldogs respond to the pressure of being ranked early in the season. The bottom line is you have to love a home underdog, especially in the SEC. Tigers lose a close one to the Bulldogs.

3. Northern Illinois (-7) @ Kansas...$33 to win $30

In a week where there’s not too much free money on the board, I am going to introduce you to my 2011 Tulsa: the Northern Illinois Huskies. Loyal readers might remember my fascination with Tulsa last year and the way they put points on the board. Well, this year my small conference crush is the NIU Huskies led by dual-threat stud Chandler Harnish. In opening week action last week against Army, Harnish only had 195 yds and 5 TD’s through the air to go with 80 yds rushing and 1 TD on the ground. That was not a typo. Huskies roll in Lawrence.

4. Notre Dame @ Michigan (+3.5)...$22 to win $20

These new rules put a gun to my head, and there is simply no way I can pick my Irish. I would probably feel pretty good about this pick if I was not a Notre Dame fan, but given my allegiance there is no way I can plunk down serious change on this one. So what do I like about the Wolverines in this one? 1. Michigan is 5-1 in their last 6 against ND in Ann Arbor. 2. The first night game in the Big House will have Wolverine fans jacked out of their minds. 3. Noting Maryland’s victory over Miami on Monday night and Oregon’s recent success, I have developed a very unscientific theory that ugly uniforms win games. Michigan’s seemingly rugby inspired “retro” unis are hideous and definitely beat out ND’s rags in this one.

I Dun Dun It Again....

I was so ambitious heading into this week in terms of what I was going to post on WNG. Bill even chipped in with his half of Two Dudes, One Post.

Plans change rapidly though and my plans to write the night away have been replaced by the impulse purchase of a flight to go see the opener Saturday. This is become a yearly tradition, one that cannot continue next year because the opener is in Ireland.

In about 36 hours I'll be smack dab in the middle of tailgate Valhalla and a few hours later I'll come through a tunnel that takes me to "the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen."

There's still time for you to book your flight, what's stopping you?

GO IRISH, BEAT BULLS

(Here's a video from a friend of the blog Her Loyal Sons, Ken O'Malley. Buy the whole CD on iTunes this fall. Head over to HLS for details.)

Irish Blogger Gathering: KICKOFF

1. The big news of last week was Dayne Crist winning the starting QB spot. Are you happy with the outcome and how comfortable are you with Crist as the starting quarterback for the 2011 season?

I'm very pleased with the outcome. My horse in this derby was Crist from day one simply because I feel he has a much higher ceiling than Tommy Rees. People's opinion of Dayne tends to be jaded by the memories of the Navy debacle and the first drive of the Tulsa game. The reality is that he flashed real promise at times last year. It's unfortunate that he ended his campaign on such a sour note, but let's not forget the fact that he had spurts where he looked like the 5-star stud he was billed to be.

There are two main things that will determine just how successful Dayne is this season. The first is the most obvious one: he has to stay healthy. I won't go so far as to say he's completely made of glass but...the ligaments in his knees are made of glass. He has to stay on the field even though Kelly is unleashing him in the running game.

The second thing is he needs to iron out the inconsistencies from last season. The biggest problem Dayne had was he'd go 7 of 12 in a quarter, but it'd be seven completions in a row followed by five consecutive incompletions. While you love the hot streaks, those cold spells kill drives and break any rhythm the offense hopes to obtain. He's never going to be deadly accurate like Clausen was, but if he can limit those cold streaks Dayne can be a very, very effective quarterback in Kelly's offense.

2. A lot of people say you see the biggest improvement between year 1 and 2 after a coaching change. What area do you hope to see the biggest improvement in 2011?

This is tough because the improvement from the first part of last year to the final four games was so drastic. Where do you choose to go from there? I suppose I'll head back to the quarterback position. In Kelly's offense, the signal caller is the guy who can be a flat-out superstar with monster statistics (see: Collaros, Zach and Pike, Tony). When Notre Dame was so effective with Rees all they did was ask him to manage the game and not screw up. I want to see quarterback go from a question mark to a strength. Based on Kelly's track record I don't think that's particularly far-fetched.

3. I think we've all covered this year's highly touted freshman class quite a bit this off-season already so instead, who do you see as this year's Corey Mays? Mays played primarly special teams for 3 seasons before a breakout season as a 5th year senior in 2005. Who on the Irish roster can pull off a similar performance this season?

There isn't a Corey Mays that will emerge as a relatively high profile starter, but there is a senior who has done little to date that'll emerge as a major (albeit relatively silent) contributor: Andrew Nuss.

Nuss had a great spring and was just barely beat out by Chris Watt (who is a MONSTER). He's versatile enough to swing between the guard positions and tackle and will play major minutes even though he's not billed as the starter. It's a huge coup for this staff to have the depth and flexibility Nuss provides.

4. Theo Riddick is a player I've been touting all off-season and think the is ready to become a big name in college football. What player on Notre Dame's roster who hasn't yet broken out are you expecting to put up big numbers in 2011?

I was on his bandwagon last year and I'll stick with it this season: Jamoris Slaughter. He couldn't stay healthy last season, but now that he's 100% Slaughter is primed to show exactly why he was tapped as the clear-cut starter last season. Yes, Zeke Motta improved drastically over the last part of the season and seems to finally be fulfilling the potential he flashed as a 4-star recruit...but Slaughter is even better. He's a fluid athlete and a big hitter; if he stays healthy he'll be an unexpected star that finishes top five on the team in tackles. If he doesn't, the Irish have a more than capable backup ready to step in.

5. Notre Dame plays a legit opponent in South Florida unlike a lot of teams around the country. How do you see this game playing out and does it help or hurt Notre Dame that they play a BCS conference opponent this weekend while Michigan plays Western Michigan?

South Florida is a very good team with a very, very good up-and-coming coach. They also have an offensive line that's been completely overhauled and will be facing an Irish defense that is bloodthirsty after five consecutive stellar performances to end the 2010 campaign. Many people are wary of this game and I understand why, but in the end this won't be as tight as many predict.

I think that ultimately this game helps Notre Dame. A solid test out of the gate forces the team to focus from day one--there's no sleep walking through a Kent State or a I-AA school the first couple weeks. Let the Skunkbears feast on a cupcake before our showdown next week. The Irish will be fresh off a victory over a legitimate Top 25 level team. A win over the Bulls means a confident team will be entering The Big House. A win over Western Michigan will still leave plenty of question marks for Brady Hoke's boys--especially when Denard Robinson looks mediocre at best under center.

6. Stealing this one from my IBG pre-season questions from last year - who is the Notre Dame player the Irish can least afford to lose this season? For the sake of getting some different response, you can't use Michael Floyd or Manti Te'o here.

As tempting as it is to pick Cierre Wood, I'll go with Gary Gray. The depth at cornerback is frighteningly thin and if Gray gets knocked out then there could be a gaping hole on one side of the field. Some fans still seem slow to appreciate Gray, but I'm here to tell you he's the best cornerback to suit up in blue and gold since Shane Walton--and by season's end there won't be anyone arguing with me.

7. Obligatory pre-season prediction question:

Notre Dame's final record (noting the losses): 12-1...I really don't know who it'll be against though. Not Stanford or Southern Cal.
Notre Dame's bowl game and opponent: Fiesta Bowl vs Boise State
Final ranking for Notre Dame: #4
Best opposing offensive and defensive player ND will face in '11: Andrew Luck, QB - Stanford (Duh)....Shayne Skov, LB - Stanford
Best opposing coach ND will face: Mark Dantonio
Notre Dame game you won't miss for anything: Southern Cal...nothing short of a coma will keep me from this game.
Notre Dame game you could watch on DVR: Southern Cal...because I'll be at the game. It's Notre Dame football, don't insult me by acting like I'd DVR a game.
National Champion: Alabama
Heisman Trophy Winner: Landry Jones

Throwback

Didn't have time to put together a column yesterday as my body and wallet recovered from the wreckage of Friday and Saturday, but here's a little gem I stumbled across. I'd been looking for the NBC intro song that I grew up listening too forever and finally someone posted it.

Who knew you could get so attached to a version of the Fight Song that was laced with an electric guitar?

Get That Blood Pumping

It's Thursday and we're 16 days away from kicking off the 2011 campaign. How about a lil' Rudy to fire everyone up?

16 days.

HERE COME THE IRISH...

Irish Blogger Gathering: The De Ja Vu Redux

Her Loyal Sons has thrown up the opening tip of the IBG season. Let's get to it.

1. Go to youtube, pick a song that a) applies to your life in some way and b) will serve as the unofficial 2011 Fighting Irish Football Anthem. Extra points if you entirely avoid any band with members born in Ireland. Disqualification for any use of Freekbass. Embed the video for that song in your answers and explain why it’s so fitting under both qualifications A and B.

After much deliberation, I'm going with: "Ali in the Jungle" - The Hours

How does it pertain to my life? This isn't a forum you visit to read tales of woe, you come here to read about ND football and wonder how Bill gets to keep his name on the site when he posts once for every lunar eclipse. Let's just say some unexpected events turned my world upside down in May and put me at rock bottom.

How quick did I get up? On the golf course it took about five days.
Off the course? Upgrades everywhere. The swagger is back.

It should be obvious how the song can serve as an anthem for the 2011 Irish. All you need to make a YouTube video to pump you up is lace in highlights from the horrendous first nine games and back them up clips from the final four. Notre Dame Football was seemingly dead in the water (again) when Tommy Rees was picked off in the endzone against Tulsa.

The team was being shredded in the media, destroyed by the majority of Irish Nation, and ridiculed by its own student body. Brian Kelly went from savior to the worst coach since Kucharich seemingly overnight. The suggestions that he was in over his head, that he was just too "small timey," were running wild.

But it's funny what a four game win streak and a loaded defensive recruiting haul can do to flip perspective. The players and coaching staff deserve all the credit in the world for staying the course and not closing down shop after the disastrous month of October. Unlike Weis' teams the previous two years, they put their noses to the grindstone and found a way to finish the season strong despite being completely ravaged by injuries.

Let's keep that momentum rolling into 2011. The giant that is Notre Dame football is awakening...it isn't quite Lazarus reborn, but for Irish fans who have suffered through the Davie, Willingham, and Weis Eras it sure feels like it.

2. Now that you’ve got your unofficial anthem rocking the home office, predict the single biggest play, positive or negative for the Irish, that will occur this season in a Notre Dame football game. Color this prediction with situation, players involved, opposing team, and even weather conditions. It’s the pre-season. Let’s see what your imaginations are doing.

First, let me set the scene for you:

With 2:04 remaining in the final quarter, Dayne Crist scrambles right on a quarterback keeper and barely gets over the goal line in the north end zone to take a 31-28 lead over Southern Cal. The undefeated Trojans, led by their insufferable head coach and golden boy quarterback, burn their first three downs and gained only one yard on their final drive. With 1:32 left, they call timeout facing a 4th and 9 from their own 26 yard line.

An electric crowd fueled by countless shotgunned beers and unhealthy levels of adrenaline rises up for one last stand. The sense of de ja vu is almost too much; every last fan in the stands knows how this movie ended last time, when a Notre Dame Moment was snatched away. They dig deep and summon whatever is left of their voice and energy and unleash it toward the field as Matt Barkley comes to the line.

Manti Te'o and Harrison Smith wave their arms, egging the Irish Faithful to get even louder. It's completely deafening as Barkley gets under center, yet he looks to his left and decides to audible.

The crowd gets louder.

The ball is snapped. Robert Woods breaks down the left sideline and gets separation from Robert Blanton. Barkley sets his feet and gets ready to deliver another crushing blow to the Notre Dame Faithful.

Until Manti Te'o buries his helmet into the chest of the Southern Cal quarterback. The ball is jarred loose and floats gently into the hands of freshman Aaron Lynch. With a full head of steam Lynch makes a beeline for the endzone, angling right toward the student section. The stadium explodes with a sound that had been absent from the House That Rockne Built since 1993.

A sound signaling Notre Dame is officially back.

3. I’m a fan of the cinematic hit, “Kicking and Screaming.” I know, it’s a film you all love too. So naturally we’d all like to re-live that moment when they’re playing “Would You Rather.” So let’s do so: Would you rather suffer a humiliating loss to Michigan this year, or a humiliating loss to Southern Cal? Why? And stop eyeing that chicken across the street, perv.

Wow, talk about pick your poison. I'll have to go with Michigan and the main reason is because I plan on October 22nd being one of the greatest days of my life. That can't happen if the Irish lose, let alone get blown out.

4. Great teams require leadership, and with Notre Dame being the only truly national college football program in the country, a great Notre Dame football team requires national leaders. So pick one. Name a player on the Irish roster in 2011 who will lead the nation in a particular, official NCAA category. Also specify how much he’ll lead the nation by indicating his national rank in that category. Note: You must be predicting this leader to finish at least as high as 10th in the nation in your chosen category. Bonus Points: Don’t pick David Ruffer – the best player on the Irish Roster.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Michael Floyd finds a way to stay healthy. If that turns out to be true, he's going reel in an Irish record 19 touchdown receptions which will place him tied for first in the NCAA with someone who lines up out wide for Hawaii.

5. You’ve already done more parsing of Brian Kelly’s words than is healthy since he first took a podium in this pre-season. What’s the single most surprising thing he’s said in that time?

"We're so focused on the run game right now." - August 10

Why? Because I think the heads of half the people on ND Nation exploded.

WeNeverGraduate: RELOADED

Is it coincidence that my life was turned upside down the very night I posted an article proclaiming to Irish Nation that I actually like Mark May? Probably not.

(Just in case, I renounce my previous statements complimenting Mark May. Sorry Mark, rather be safe than sorry.)

The point of this post is to announce we're reopening the doors:

Tuesday, we'll kick things off with the preseason Irish Blogger Gathering hosted by the guys at Her Loyal Sons. From there, who knows? Maybe we can pry Bill into a Two Dudes, One Post. Maybe we'll open up the mailbag. Maybe we'll bring Hinkle in for a guest spot from his new home on the West Coast. Hell, throw out some ideas and we'll run with them.

Get the internet version of Paul Revere and tell him to sound the horn. We're back because dammit, we need to provide another website to entertain the Lord of Shots, Zeiser, and Drake at work.