Where's the Catholic love?

Boston College's Rich Gunnell and Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen clearly are not friends. Now I just want to know what Gunnell said to Clausen to cause the least-favorite QB in the country to push him following the Irish's close win Saturday.

Picks of the Week: No. 1

I'm back for a second year to offer my best prognostication skills against the talented odds makers of Las Vegas. OK, last year I went a mediocre, but above .500, 32-27. If you follow the 'Eer you'll know he follows his gut (which seems to be getting bigger) more than he should. But he thinks 2009 is his year.

We'll see.

Alabama (-6.5) over Virginia Tech
I say it every year, Virginia Tech is the most over-rated team. The Hokies enter this marquee showdown in Atlanta with an 0-20 record on the road against teams in the Top 5. Nick Saban is a better game-day coach than Frank Beamer (seriously, only people in Blacksburg actually believe Beamer Ball is relevant). Bama proved last year in this game that the preseason top-rated team in the ACC is no match for a Top-5 SEC squad.
Pick: Alabama 30, Virginia Tech 17

Nebraska (-22.5) over Florida Atlantic
Remember last year when Howard Schnellenberger said Texas was soft? Exactly, a 52-10 drubbing by the Longhorns. The Cornhuskers aren't Texas, but Bo Pelini will put it on the Owls in Lincoln.
Pick: Nebraska 48, FAU 9

Minnesota (-7.0) over Syracuse
Tim Brewster and the Gophers love these early games. Last year Minnesota opened 7-1 and finished 7-6. As much as I'd love to pick the Orange in an upset and give new coach Doug Marrone a nice start, Minnesota's offense is too diverse and talented for Syracuse. Plus, I can't pick former Duke point guard Greg Paulus to win.
Pick: Minnesota 27, Syracuse 14

California (-21.0) over Maryland
Maybe I'm hating on the ACC a bit this week. But I remember watching the Terps upset the Bears in College Park last year (and who could forget Jahvid Best puking up his breakfast after a big hit). Cal has the better talent, and more experience. I don't think revenge is a huge factor, but Maryland shouldn't expect Cal to sleep in for the first three quarters this year.
Pick: California 38, Maryland 14

Upset of the Week
Nevada (-14.5) over Notre Dame
Go ahead Irish fans. Laugh. But you wont' be laughing after athletic junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick shreds the Irish defense in the first meeting between the two schools. Kaepernick is the preseason WAC Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for nearly 3,000 yards last season. If ND can't protect Jimmy Clausen any better than it has the past two seasons it could be real ugly. Plus it will be fun to watch the Charlie Weis haters get fired up early.
Pick: Nevada 27, Notre Dame 24

Sorry. I wanted to pick Miami over Florida State on Monday, but I don't have the stones to do it.

Season Record: 0-0

Not so fast Notre Dame

It's amazing how one (impressive) victory can alter everyone's opinion so fast.

Just 72 hours ago, we were talking about how Notre Dame didn't have a chance against Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. How if the Fighting Irish lost Charlie Weis could still be in trouble of losing his gig as the BIG man in South Bend.

But ND didn't lose. The Irish looked every bit as good as a team stacked with blue chippers and five-star talents should. I watched the game on Christmas Eve and was flabbergasted with how ND looked like an elite team. The Irish were faster, bigger and played with more emotion than the Rainbow Warriors.

And did you see the way Jimmy Clausen played? He set Irish bowl records with 401 passing yards and five TDs as Notre Dame rolled to a 49-21 victory--ND's first postseason win in 15 years.

Now that I've had time to think about it, this performance shouldn't be such a surprise.

Notre Dame should destroy Hawaii. The Irish recruit elite players, who should be able to play at any of the best schools in the nation. Hawaii takes cast-offs like Colt Brennan and hope they develop into stars. What made ND's victory so interesting was that the Irish played with the emotion of a team needing to make a statement--even if it was in a bowl way below ND standards.

Now I'm hearing and reading about how this is the tipping point for ND football. That with all the Irish's returning players next year that they could be a big-time player in college football in 2009.

Bogus.

Remember less than 12 months ago when Georgia entered the Sugar Bowl with all kinds of hype and a chip on the shoulder for not being considered for the BCS Championship? The Bulldogs dominated the miscast Warriors 41-10, and the hype began for the Bulldogs. Mark Richt's team was anointed the favorite for 2008. We all know how well that went for UGA.

Now Hawaii has kick started the Notre Dame hype machine for 2009.

Over at the Bleacher Report, one writer is claiming that ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick's decision to stick with Weis was rewarded with Wednesday's victory. How low have the standards fallen among the Irish faithful that a road win over Hawaii saves a season? Here's how low. Notre Dame used to turn down bowl games like this, especially after a 6-6 regular season. Now they take the game to end bowl losing streaks.

What I think most will remember is that Notre Dame had lost five of its last seven, including an embarrassing 24-23 loss to Syracuse before the bowl win.

There's also talk that Clausen has resurrected his career with this performance. Clausen has a great arm, but he's overrated. Just like his brothers at Tennessee. He'll be the same Jimmy the next two years. Stop the Heisman hype now. He's not that good.

It was a good win. Notre Dame can go into the offseason on a positive note and the coaches can hit the recruiting trail with tales of playing in Hawaii. This isn't anti-ND. This is a reality check. Folks, it was just a win over Hawaii.

ND should have a good record next year. Look at this cakewalk of a schedule (the only tough game is Southern Cal at home). The Irish should be underdogs against Michigan State, Boston College and Pitt.

Notre Dame 2009
Sept. 5: Nevada
Sept. 12: at Michigan
Sept. 19: Michigan State
Sept. 26: at Purdue
Oct. 3: Washington
Oct. 17: USC
Oct. 24: Boston College
Oct. 31: vs. Washington State (at San Antonio, Texas)
Nov. 7: Navy
Nov. 14: at Pittsburgh
Nov. 21: Connecticut
Nov. 28: at Stanford

Even the schedules at Notre Dame have dropped well below Irish standards. So save the resurrection talk until Weis and the Irish win a meaningful game. Looks like the first shot at that is Oct. 17, 2009.