On to More Important Things - ND Football

They're baaack!
With a fury, the Fighting Irish return.
Make no mistake, this is not the National Championship year, but we can see it from here.
The top flight recruits are a year older; the offense and defense have an attitude; there are actually a few upper classmen and the schedule is not the brutal one as a year ago.
I believe this is a 9-3 year and a mid major bowl game. Just the warmup we need for the 2009 Championship run.
Here is how I see it:
Wins - SDS, Skunkbears, Purdue, The Trees , UW, NC, Pitt, Navy & 'Cuse
Losses - MSU, BC, SC
We won't make it look easy as several of these teams are getting better (Stanford and NC come to mind) and a couple cannot get much worse (Pitt and 'Cuse). Michigan will be a strange one only because of the unknowns of RichRod and his offense and we have a chance to beat MSU though it'll be toughter with a coach we cannot depend on to get stupid (see John L). Also, the BC game is no gimme for them with a new QB and not loaded with 5th year seniors like a year ago, but the game is up there and I cannot in good conscience say they're going 11-1 with the only loss to USC.
I'll be at MSU and would love to make one Home game, but we'll see what the cards have in store for me this season.
Meanwhile we get to see a couple good games this weekend (MSU at Cal will tell us alot and Utah at Michigan has got to be interesting) while also tolerating the usual early season blowouts (thank the Lord I can get the Big ten channel now, I'd hate to miss Youngstown State at OSU).
Off we go...say NO to Politics and Yes to Football!