Well known ND shill Tom Lemming is raving about ND’s recruiting class and giving some respect to Pitt.
The recruiting efforts of Weis and his staff thus far have Notre Dame sitting at No. 2 nationally among recruiting classes, according to recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. ND’s season-opening opponent — coached by another first-year coach coming in from the NFL, Dave Wannstedt — also finds itself in the national top 10. Pittsburgh is rated seventh, based on verbal commitments to this point. Texas is No. 1.
“I haven’t seen Pitt get off to a start like this since the early ’80s, when they were still in their glory years,” said Lemming, whose weekly recruiting show “Tom Lemming’s Generation Next” debuts on CSTV Thursday at 6:30 EST (7:30 EDT).
“Wannstedt has been working recruiting almost like Charlie. But then again, I’m not sure anyone’s worked it like Charlie.”
The article gets strangely obnoxious because Coach Wannstedt mixed up a couple of the ND assistants during a press conference. Very odd.
A press release from some handicapper services picks Pitt.
Pittsburgh -3
Things likely to improve at Notre Dame, but perhaps not this quickly. Pitt still looking to prove something have plenty of talent back and more than enough motivation to beat ND at home to start the season. Lay the points.
Okay.
Since May, I have been banging on the NCAA mandate to cut all media guides to a maximum 208 pages. I have said from the beginning that what they would cut, wouldn’t be the fluff and the stuff they use to try and sell the school and program to recruits — it would be the stats and records.
Pat Forde’s column calls out one of the biggest examples of this malfeasance.
As is so often the case with NCAA rules, the intent was outflanked by the schools’ reaction. Instead of trimming the fat, many schools eradicated or drastically reduced the history of their programs and kept the recruiting propaganda.
“This is what the coach wanted,” came the apologetic response from one SID trying to explain why his guide had lost so much of its useful information. “And what the coach wants, the coach gets.”
The Dash’s favorite version of football Pravda belongs to Iowa (32), where the program has apparently just sprouted out of the cornfields within the last 12 months. (This should come as surprising news to Hayden Fry.) There is no year-by-year record of anything the Hawkeyes did before 2004, no school records, no bowl history.
If the Hawkeyes should start the season, say, 8-0, the media will report that it’s the first time since … uh, well … we don’t know when. If quarterback Drew Tate should throw for 500 yards in a game, it could well be a school record … but we really wouldn’t be able to tell you that for sure.
But let’s look at what you do get: 144 pages of recruiting top spin titled “Why Iowa” to start the guide, including 16 consecutive pages trumpeting Iowa’s success putting players in the NFL (in case the point didn’t sink in, the back page of the guide reiterates the current Hawkeyes in the NFL). There are a mere eight pages on Minister of Information/head coach Kirk Ferentz (33), including a section entitled “Coach Kirk on Kirk.” Eight pages apparently were not enough to include Ferentz’s career record. (It’s 42-31, in case you’re wondering.)
And on page 17, recruits are shown pictures of Bill Cosby and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The caption’s unspoken message: Dear African-American player: See, black people really do come to Iowa City! By next year, we’ll try to update this page with a picture of Fifty Cent!
Sadly predictable. Forde also offers the following thought on the game on Saturday.
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (17): Which NFL expatriate coach gets his first college Gatorade bath? Huge game for both teams: Notre Dame has five ranked opponents on the schedule, and this might be the most beatable of the group; Pitt could be favored in its next seven games if it starts with a victory here. Loser finds its immense offseason optimism doused.
This is what I said, last week.
One way or the other, in a week Pitt or ND faithful are about to have expectations tempered.
Pitt needs to win. There can be no risk of a certain incident that took place on the South Side after the loss a couple years ago.
