Georgia Tech: Wow, a young offense with a totally inexperienced quarterback couldn’t ask for a worse way to start the season. GT’s blitz-crazy defense is extremely hard for any QB to read, and they’ve got some real talent on D. Charlie’s got a lot of time to draw up an effective gameplan, and if we can control the line of scrimmage and ram it down their throats, all the exotic blitz packages and wacky formations in the world won’t be able to help them. However, if we get down and have to pass a lot, our offense will have a pretty miserable day at the office. On the flip side, GT lost the best receiver in the country to the NFL and has to break in a new QB themselves. Combine that with the fact that they pretty much have no idea what to expect scheme-wise from our defense, and I think we’ve got a pretty good chance to dominate their O. All in all, I’m predicting a very low scoring game and a win for the Irish.
@ Penn State: Not sure what to expect from these guys. I wasn’t too impressed with Morelli last year, and they lost a lot on defense. However, this is a home game for them and they get to work out the kinks in a scrimmage against Florida International the week before. I don’t see our ridiculously inexperienced team getting it done in their first road game at one of college football’s most storied venues. I’m predicting a loss, but I also thought last year’s game would be a lot harder than it turned out to be. Hopefully I’m wrong.
@ Michigan: We’re not going to the big house with eight seniors and taking down a highly ranked Michigan squad. The good news is that, the way recruiting has gone the last few years, I don’t foresee us losing to them again for quite some time. Savor it this year skunkbears.
Michigan State: No one really knows what to expect out of MSU or its new coach. I’m going to be optimistic and predict a win, but I really have no idea.
@ Purdue: Charlie Weis isn’t going to lose to Purdue. Not now, not ever. Tiller is so thoroughly outclassed by Charlie’s coaching ability that I almost feel bad for the guy. For whatever reason, Charlie just has that guy’s number, and is always three steps ahead of him. Big win for the Irish that will raise expectations to an unrealistic level.
@ UCLA: Their defense is going to destroy us. We were lucky to score barely enough points with Brady Quinn and the Shark on board, and they return pretty much their entire defense. I’m not too sure what to expect out of their offense, but I get the feeling UCLA only needs to get about 10 points to seal the deal. After this loss, people will be calling for a new QB.
Boston College: Sigh, another loss. I’m so sick and tired of playing these guys. There’s absolutely no upside. I just can’t believe how unbelievably jacked up they get for this game. They play us like warrior poets, and it’s a huge advantage for them because, to us, they’re just another team on the schedule. Now, we’re used to teams giving us their best shot, but BC takes it to another level. They play us as if their lives depended on it. Their inspired play versus the Irish is nothing short of amazing. They make the passion filled Army-Navy game look like a half-hearted slapfight. We’d have a better shot against the Indianapolis Colts than we do against BC’s adrenaline pumped squad. Ugh. If we beat them, so what… we beat another mediocre team. If we lose to them, which happens all the freaking time thanks to their ungodly motivation, it’s an embarrassment. Thank God we’re ending the series with them. Another loss for the Irish.
USC: No shame in getting blown out by the #1 team in the country. Did I mention that we have eight seniors? Thanks Ty! This will get ugly.
Navy: Blowout win for the Irish.
Air Force: Blowout win for the Irish.
Duke: Blowout win for the Irish.
@Stanford: Blowout win for the Irish.
Bowl Game: I’m not going to make any predictions, because without knowing the opponent, anything I said would be silly conjecture. I’m thinking a 7-5 record will get us an Insight.com bowl bid, and hopefully our easy four-game stretch to end the season will give us some momentum and propel us to a win against our opponent.
Labels: Predictions
