Pat Forde's Minutes

I'll take it as a good sign that the Gophers are not even mentioned in his "contender/pretender" segment. Pretty much agree with what he has to say about Penn State. 9-9 won't be enough for the Nitts unless there are a couple signature wins down the stretch. NC schedule doesn't kick them enough kick.

Also, IT'S ABOUT FRIGGIN' TIME someone called Notre Dame to the carpet. McDonough, Raftery & Bilas are one of my favorite announcing crews, but they made NOT EVEN ONE mention of Notre Dame's NCAA position last night (unless I missed it), which is clearly getting precarious. I'd say that's a pretty important piece of information considering Notre Dame started the season in the top 10. But no, they were too busy -- despite having a wonderful & entertaining game to call -- comparing the ACC & Big East for about the 1 millionth time (by someone ESPN related).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3863246&sportCat=ncb

SelectionSunday said:

Also, IT'S ABOUT FRIGGIN' TIME someone called Notre Dame to the carpet. McDonough, Raftery & Bilas are one of my favorite announcing crews, but they made NOT EVEN ONE mention of Notre Dame's NCAA position last night (unless I missed it), which is clearly getting precarious. I'd say that's a pretty important piece of information considering Notre Dame started the season in the top 10.

Click to expand...

It IS about time that someone talks about Notre Dame. The Irish are slipping away quickly in the Big East, now sitting at 3-5 and with a road game at Pitt up next. Though they've got a softer finish to their schedule, they still have Villanova and Louisville coming to the Joyce Center and a revenge game out in Connecticut against the Huskies. It's easy to see the Irish going 9-9 in Big East play, and only one or two mediocre showings away from something like 8-10 or 7-11. They also still have a road game against UCLA (the end of a three-game road "trip" they're about to start featuring Pitt, Cincinnati and UCLA). A loss out west could put the Irish in a position where finishing solidly still has them at 18-12 overall, with any slips putting them further down the totem pole. They've got a lot of work still ahead of them IMHO.