From what I saw today, these two programs are back and for real.  These are two solid football ball teams.  Both have solid running games and good quarterbacks.  In fact this Forcier kid really impressed me, especially for a true freshman.  Talented and poised, he is going to be a great one.  And Clausen for Notre Dame is no slouch either.  And Michael Floyd, the receiver for the Irish had a great day against Michigan.

As I write this, the score is 24-20 Michigan and there is no sure bet who will win this one.  It’s been back and forth all day. And since I don’ have a dog in this hunt, I don’t really care, it’s just fun to watch.  Great college football game on TV on Saturday afternoon.  My wife can’t get any work out of me right now!

Currently Notre Dame is ranked 18th and if they win will likely move up.  The media just loves the Irish.  And if Michigan wins, they will likely crack the polls for the first time in a while.

This is just a part of what’s great about college football!  I just love it.

There is no doubt that USC is a fine football program. And they are currently the #4 ranked college football team in  the preseason polls. And they won an uncontested National Championship in 2004.   But just because of one team’s accomplishments doesn’t mean that the Pac-10 is on par with the SEC as a football conference, especially year in and year out.  I will give you that the Pac 10 has gotten better in recent years with Oregon, Oregon State and Arizona State showing up in the polls more consistently.  But the question is which conference is stronger?  Well let’s just let the numbers from history answer that.

Currently the SEC has four football teams in the top 10 preseaon polls,  and five in the top 20.  The Pac-10 has one in the top 10  just three in the top 20 overall.  Now let’s look at the last several years and see which conference had more teams in the final top 25 polls:

2008: SEC–4 Pac-10–3
2007: SEC–5 Pac-10–4
2006: SEC–5 Pac-10–4
2005: SEC–5 Pac-10–3
2004: SEC–5 Pac-10–3
2003: SEC–5 Pac-10–2

Let’s also look at the national college football championship. The SEC claims the current defending national champion and overall, have had 7 national champions since 1990 including the split title of 2003 in which LSU was number one and won the BCS so called “National Championship” bowl game between #1 and #2, but the AP poll voted USC as number one. Go figure.

The Pac-10 has had 3 national champions during that same time, but twice it was USC if you do in fact include the 2003 split title. So the way that I count the numbers it’s 7-3.

So what does all of this really mean? It means basically that the media wants to find a reason to promote USC and the Pac-10, which I don’t understand.  I am obviously in favor of the SEC, but the numbers don’t lie.

If you sit back and just look at the last several years, there really is no football basis for the question that Sports Illustrated asked. Maybe if they had asked if USC could win the SEC, THAT would be a good question for football fans to ponder.

One of my favorites is Alabama versus Auburn, not only a great rivalry but an SEC football classic. Some say that this is “without a doubt” the best rivalry in college football. Neighbors have been known to burn the score into each others yards. Fans have changed phone numbers because of the relentless calls from the victor after the game. Families have had fist fights over this one.

Ohio State and Michigan. Since 1913, these two football teams have combined for all or part of 70 Big Ten titles and have finished 1-2 in the standings 15 times since 1968. So no doubt it is a competition between two great football programs. It is also an intense rivalry. Ohio State refused to cancel the 1950 game even though it would be played in the midst of one of the worst blizzards in state records. And canceling the game would have guaranteed the Buckeyes a trip to the Rose Bowl. But they wanted to play.

Georgia vs Georgia Tech. Nicknamed “Good Ole Fashioned Hate”, this rivalry seems to have cooled off some compared to others that are mentioned here. Don’t ask the players about that, they still seem to go at it with full intensity on the football field. But the fans don’t seem to care as much any more about this one.

Florida vs Florida State. May be one of the younger rivalries, but still very intense. Cars have been destroyed and fans run out of the opponents town for showing up alone decorated with team colors and markers. During the 1990’s these two were arguably the two best college football programs in the country.

Ok, I could go on and on. I am not trying to name each big rivalry in college football today. I would not have enough room and would still leave someone out. But I am looking for all of you football fans to give my your comments on which game YOU think is the best rivalry in college football today.

Let’s hear it!

The Notre Dame football helmets are repainted every week. Yes, that’s right, every week. Every Monday the helmets are lined up and await about 100 student managers who spend about 5-7 hours of labor to give the Irish that golden shine for Saturday afternoons.

It’s a painstakingly detailed job. They tape the helmets, cover the face masks in Saran Wrap (or remove some of them), then buff the rough parts off the helmets to prepare them for painting. All of this prep work every week for both home and away games. For home games, they have 105 helmets, for away games only 60 (ha, only 60).

According to the student managers who perform the work, just the painting of the first coat alone takes about 4-5 hours. Then the final coat must be applied and the helmets then are carried to a room underneath the football stadium to dry overnight.

The neat thing about this process is what goes into the final coat. The final coat is actually a clear gloss with an extra ingredient—three to four teaspoons of actual gold dust. Where do they get this dust? When Notre Dame periodically re-gilds its Golden Dome, the gold dust that is left over is socked away for the football helmets. The clear gloss with the gold dust is what gives the helmets their shine.

A neat story, especially when you consider that these student managers return each week for their labor of love. Recent years have brought a return of glory and recognition to Notre Dame football. But apparently, in South Bend, the mystique and allure of the Fighting Irish football team has always been alive and well.