Stoops seeks TRO against Notre Dame

Rumor has it this guy's parked outside Stoops house, playing this song.

The Chicago Sun Times is stalker-like in their reporting of Stoops to Notre Dame. Today they "reported" the coach could be named "as early as Sunday" and that Stoops remains the lead candidate.

The paper indicates Stoops has not told the school "No" and therefore is still a candidate.

Stoops issued a statement today. I'm not sure he said no, but it was at least "get the ###### away from me".

So, we're headed down one of two paths here:

1) Stoops is a soothsayer along the lines of Nick Saban or Dennis Franchione. It's possible.

2) Stoops is staying put.

Here's the official LandThieves theory: When Florida fired the Zooker a few years ago and the Florida job was in play, Stoops went strangely silent. I don't recall him issuing denials, I recall him disappearing and not returning calls or texts from media types until he made a decision. As a result, I think it's unlike Stoops to come out publicly and deny something if he's really contemplating the opportunity. In his statement he said, "There haven't been any plans for a meeting or negotiations with Notre Dame and there will not be. Any reporting to that fact is completely erroneous. I will not be the next coach at Notre Dame." I have no reason not to believe him.

Furthermore, I think the Sun Times are being played with misinformation. My theory is that Brian Kelly is going to be the next coach. Kelly has said he'd listen if Notre Dame calls. Conversely, if Nebraska beats Texas, there's a decent chance the Bearcats leap the Horned Frogs and play the SEC Champ for the BCS title. Brian Kelly is not going to leave Cincy for another job if he gets the chance to play for a national title. As a result, I believe the new coach could be named as soon as sunday, particularly if Cincy is playing in the Orange or Fiesta Bowl.

Will the Fish Eaters win 10 games

Yes, but because of a painfully easy schedule. Let’s take a look at the Irish schedule, which I've broken out into Wins, Winnable, Losable and Losses:

• Scheduled wins: Nevada, Navy, Washington, Washington State
• Winnable: Michigan State, Connecticut, at Stanford, at Pittsburgh
• Losable: at Michigan (1-4 in their last five in Ann Arbor), at Purdue (Irish 2-4 at West Lafayette since Holtz retired), Boston College (0-6 since 2001),
• Losses you can count on: Southern California

The Irish are taking some heat in some media outposts for their easy schedule. However, let’s face it, it’s not the Irish’s fault that Michigan is at an unprecedented valley in their football history, or that Washington and Washington State are also at unusually low lows. Charlie Weis did not transform into Bill Snyder.

To heck with history though, let’s just be realistic. Nevada’s probably the team most likely to win a conference championship of the Irish foes, and they have to go through Boise State to do that. Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State trail Ohio State, Illinois and Penn State in the Big 10, and perhaps Iowa as well. Washington and Washington State will be the bottom dwellers of the Pac 10. Stanford is in the middle third of the Pac 10 at best. Connecticut will be a middle of the road Big East team. Pittsburgh is a contender for the Big East title. BC will be a contender for the ACC title. Navy’s beaten Notre Dame once since Roger Stauback left the academy.

Let’s presume my breakdown is correct. The Irish have 4 lock wins and a lock loss against the Trojans. Let’s presume they go 3-1 in the winnable games. To get to 10-2 in the regular season, they’ve got to go 3-0 through Michigan, Purdue and BC? I don’t think that’s likely. Alternatively, they’ve probably got a better shot of going 4-0 through MSU, UConn, Stanford and Pitt.A 10-2 record will likely get the traditionally overrated Irish in a BCS bowl game, where they will get pasted by someone. Alternatively, a 9-3 regular season record will get them to a middle tier bowl game, where they have a much better chance of winning.

Either way, I think they end up 10-3. For more coverage of the Irish, check out http://www.onefootdown.com/.

Hall of Fame Cheater, Lou Holtz

Tonight Lou Holtz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. This article tells you Lou is the only coach to lead six different teams to bowl games and four different programs to final Top 20 rankings. What it doesn't tell you is he's also one of the few coaches to lead three consecutive programs to major NCAA infractions. Let's go to the tape:

Lou Holtz coached the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 1984 and 1985 football seasons. In 1988, the NCAA detailed major infractions involving the Minnesota football and basketball teams included the period Holtz was at Minnesota.

Lou coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1986 – 1996. In 1999, the NCAA issued a report detailing major infractions involving the football team from 1994 to 1998. Again, Holtz was head coach during part of that period.

Lou coached the South Carolina Gamecocks from 1999-2004. In November 2005, the NCAA issued a report detailing major infractions against the football program covering the period Holtz was at South Carolina.

Lou may have just been a victim of circumstance to happen to be the head coach when this cheating was going on. But it's an interesting coincidence, don't you think?

Nonetheless, he is deified by many. I'll admit I find him entertaining to listen to, but at least recognize the legacy. It's a similar record as Jim Harrick, or Jackie Sherril, but with more charm. And an ESPN contract.

Friends O' LandThieves Expands

We're adding a new compadre to the LandThieves. Whiskey over at One Foot Down offers CFB coverage, with a slant toward Notre Dame. It's quite an accomplishment for me to acknowledge a FishEater blog, being that a) the Sooners last beat the Irish in 1956; b) Jimmy Clausen is their QB; c) the Irish were victors on the two losses that framed the Sooners 47 game unbeaten streak back in the day.

Be sure and check 'em out.

Pope Meets w ND Abuse Victims

This is a genius post from the gang at Sunday Morning QB. Be warned, there is some salty language involved. If you despise Notre Dame like any good Protestant or Sooner should (two reasons for me), you will get a kick out of this.

For you non-Sooner fans out there. OU's 47 game game winning streak was stopped by Notre Dame, and the two losses preceding the 47 game streak were to ND. Furthermore, we have not beaten the FishEaters in the last six attempts, with our last victory being in the midst of the streak, in 1956.

Plus, they are the only school Lou Holtz coached in college that didn't land on probation after he left. See Arkansas, Minnesota, South Carolina. Basically, he's Kelvin Sampson with a lisp and a much more dynamic personality - as well as a contract with ESPN.

Notre Dame Spring Game Betting Line

DJ Gallo, of www.espn.com and www.sportspickle.com, has a great take on Notre Dame's spring game.

Bonus FishEater Coverage

Great analysis by Seth Kolloen for a breakdown of the ND recruiting classes. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.

Weis Stealing Signs?

I think we can all say after three weeks that Notre Dame staff do not appear to be cheating like Weis' former coaching mates in the NFL. If Charlie knows what the defense is doing, and still can't score TD's then, holy cow, I don't know what to say.

Synonyms for Rebuilding

As a public service to the ongoing life of Charlie Weis, I'd like to present the following synonyms for rebuilding:


1) remake
2) reshape
3) build again
4) reconstruct
5) dismantle and reassemble
6) convince Ty's recruits at U-Dub to transfer to ND


If you have additional synonyms you believe Mr. Weis could use to spare his life while discussing ND's miserable start to the season, please leave 'em in the comments section.

Charlie Weis Receives Message from God

Yesterday, ND Football Coach Charlie Weis asked God to "strike me dead" if he mentioned the word "rebuilding". In a LandThief exclusive, we found an unnamed source who claims God has answered back and has indicated the Creator (and we're not talking Andre Wiley here) will strike Charlie dead if he mentions any of the following phrases:

• "Yes, I would like to Biggie size my combo meal"
• "No thanks, I don't care for a salad."
• "Mark Mangino looks fat in that outfit."
• "Brady, forget football, I think you should be a singer."
• "Do these pants make me look skinny?"

Provide other lethal comments for Charlie below, if you wish.