College Four-play: Week 13 football picks

There’s fired, so fired, and then there’s Charlie Weis.

The much maligned man at the helm of the Golden Domers could no longer fool anyone Saturday afternoon as Notre Dame’s players filed out of the tunnel to face Connecticut. His time had come.

 

Tears rolled down his cheeks. He looked longingly out onto the sacred turf in South Bend. And he hugged every player as each one emerged from the locker room.

 

Weis could no longer deny what the rest of us already knew: 8-4 just wasn’t going to cut it. Not in this place. Not where BCS bowl games are the expectation and top five recruiting classes come easier than first downs against Washington State.

 

And in the final curtain for Weis at home, the Irish lost. Again.

 

And instead of hoping to scrape an 8-4 record and a respectable bowl game from the bottom of an unimpressive schedule, Notre Dame is a 10-point underdog heading into Stanford this weekend with a lame duck coach and is praying to avoid going 6-6.

 

Not likely to happen, which would make Weis’s record 35-27 over five seasons with 19 of those wins coming in his first two years when he had the benefit of Tyrone Willingham’s recruits.

 

But who wants to talk about such depressing things? Weis said several times in his Tuesday press conference that he certainly didn’t. This week is about Stanford, dammit. Which conveniently meant he wouldn’t have to discuss the black eye on Jimmy Clausen’s face or the one he’ll leave on one of the proudest programs in the country.

 

It has been a steep and steady fall indeed from just five years ago when Weis hit the South Bend campus and promptly led the Domers to the Fiesta and Sugar bowls in his first two seasons.

 

He looked like Touchdown Jesus’s gift to coaching then. But what is he now? Where does a program wrecker slash guy who used to be a decent O.C. in the pros go from here?

 

It got me thinking - and then got us debating - here at Covers. It seemed there was no clear consensus on Weis’s fate. So I got in touch with the folks at Bodog to see if they could put together some odds for us.

 

Here’s what they came up with:

 

NFL coordinator: 1-1    

NCAA Division I-A head coach: 9-4    

NCAA Division I-AA or lower head coach: 4-1   

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Posted by powers13
3 years ago

STANFORD WINS BY BY 4 TO 7 POINTS........
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Posted by powers13
3 years ago

notredame is agreaty school for acedemics and should be proud of that.........there are so many dumb phuck americans getting into college without and descent high school education.........plus look at the degrees pr majors these jocks sign up for.........baking and sewing 101........ its great too see the great schools like harvard...yale ..staNford .....notredame princeton boston u and college........but its truly a phucking joke the educational system in the usa.......70 percent or maybe even 8o percent of the jocks would not get into a canadian university.......a belgium university....... a swedish univesirty or any universaity in europe for that matter......... i would be proud to have attended ,graduated andPLAYED FOOTBALL FOR NOTREDAME........... IF YOU EVER GO FOR A JOB INTERVIEW AND IT SAID ON YOUR RESUME .....you graduated and played for THE university OF NOTREDAME........IT WOULD BE AOTOMATIC........THE JOB IS YOURS KIOD......
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Posted by doobiebrother
3 years ago

Everything 3 stars today. Abbreviated write-ups. UConn (-13.5) over Syracuse - Orange playing spunky and won their "bowl" vs. in-state rival Rutgers, but Huskies far superior and can clinch bowl eligibility. So Miss (+6.5) over ECU - Winner goes to CUSA title game. Nearly identical power rating and Eagles are 7-0 SU & 6-0-1 ATS L7 trips to Greenville. Florida (-25) over FSU - Seminoles win by outscoring opponents but nobody scores squat on Gators. Should be like any other 47-45 FSU game, but Seminoles get only 10. Parlay Arizona (-3) and Under (44) - Last 3 meetings in Tempe have been defensive battles and Devils' nasty "D" might keep them in it for a while, but with 2 more starters lost from an already depleted OL, non-existant ASU offense should be overwhelmed. Notre Dame (+10) over Stanford - Huge let down spot for Cardinal after a string of key Pac 10 games and Irish offense should be able to match scores and keep it tight.
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Posted by indrep
3 years ago

Take a strong look at Syracuse +13 1/2 today. The weather will be windy. Syracuse has a better run defense. This is a huge play for me.
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Posted by middletown
3 years ago

TWO TEAMS GOING OPPOSITE DIRECTONS, TRENDS CHANGE, THE BOTTOM LINE IS STANFORD IS JUST A BETTER FOOTBALL TEAM. LAY THE POINTS
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Posted by timmytguns
3 years ago

Good luck to all you N.D backers! I love N.D. But they are a huge dissapointment when it comes to cash!!
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Posted by dandyjefe
3 years ago

So Long Weis! Nice knowing you!!!! Stanford will prevail, give Weis the points. Take Stanford -10 and give Weis a kick in the place were it hurts for recruiting so bad.
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Posted by StevenGA1011
3 years ago

UNC -5.5 CLEM -3.5 MISS -7.5 OKST +7.5 MIA -7 VT -15 ARK +3.5 RICE +29.5 UCLA +13
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Posted by EazyE11
3 years ago

Hey all, new to the site here, good to join. Started off perfect 4-0 today with my under plays in the WVU/Pitt, FSU/BAMA, UCONN/Duke, and Portland/Minnesota games. I really like FSU getting 25 points against the gators tomorrow. I know it's at Florida and Tim Tebow and blah blah blah, but this is Bowden's last hurrah I feel like. The 'noles will put up a fight. No way they lose by 25! Good luck all.
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Posted by Bslim415
3 years ago

BYU STANFORD
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Posted by codlocks
3 years ago

NDUKECHI lost all credibility when he talked about graduation rates. Who gives a darn?
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Posted by sportsKing84
3 years ago

There are many games on the board tonight but 2 are money makers. You're never gonna make money in the long term betting 5 games a night. The two games that stick out are Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia and the Boise vs Nevada game. Check out "pickonlywinners.com" for analyses, and what and how to bet them.
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Posted by Dinosaur
3 years ago

"ND has been in every game this year to the bitter end." Sounds like Weis arguing why his ND team should have been ranked in the Top 25 earlier in the season. Look at the opposition, man. Purdue, Connecticut, Navy, Washington State, Michigan and Michigan State? Give me a break. The fact that ND DIDN'T win every game is testimony to how bad they are, pure and simple. Weis arrived as a pompous, conceited blowhard. Now he leaves as a pompous, conceited loser. The ND football program is doomed to continued mediocrity. The academic standards are too high (thank God) for the typical high school football recruit to overcome.
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Posted by powers13
3 years ago

STANFORD WINS.........
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Posted by djorange007
3 years ago

Exaltedgaming, what in God's name are you talking about? I'm a Pitt alum, and certainly don't root for ND, but to say Clausen "can't start at most D2 schools" is by far the dumbest thing I've read on this site in a long time, and that is certainly saying something. I certainly wouldn't give the man the heisman, but 3400 yards and 23 TD's speaks for itself. Keep the hyperbole to a minimum, it sounds like Lou Holtz tea-bagged you as a child and you have been holding it against ND ever since. Also, navy has had 8+ wins each of the last 7 years, so perhaps you should start paying attention to college football before calling people morons.
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Posted by ExaltedGaming
3 years ago

Oh and bye the way you put to much stock in your "SUPER FRESHMAN" Jimmy Clausen, who SUCKS! This kid would not start on most D2 schools, but you Golden Homers will never admit that, blame it on Willingham, Davies, or the weather, doesn't matter because you should never ever get beat by NAVY, JACK OFFS!
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Posted by ExaltedGaming
3 years ago

Willinghams recruits are what got Weiss any wins at all you MORON! Weiss couldn't recruit, are you kidding me. You run a 4.3 40 every school in the country is interested in you, you live in the inner part of a major city, Charlie Weiss knocks on your door, uuhhh I don't think so. University of Florida here I come. WEIS is gone good riddens! Oh and thanks for nothing, but I did enjoy watching them get smashed by NAVY (LMAO) every year.
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Posted by mts2788
3 years ago

yeah ...you guys really believe that Willingham damaged the program? Weis has only won with Willingham players. Weis is OVERWEIGHT, OVERRATED, OVERPAID, AND IN OVER HIS HEAD.......GO JOIN HIS BUDDY ROMEO CRENNEL... GO MAKE COORS LIGHT COMMERCIALS...
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Posted by Irisheyez
3 years ago

Ndukechi is 100% correct about Willingham and how much he damaged the program. And if there is any question about it.....just call a Huskie fan and ask about the position of their program right now. ND has been in every game this year to the bitter end. They could be 3-9 or they could be 10-1 or 11-0 going into this game......Stanford is a good team but goes up and down. If you don't grab the 10 points in this game, I can't help you. The Irish may lose to Stanford for the first time in 7 years.....but they haven't lost by more than 7 all year, and they won't be sending Charlie home a large loser. Thye offense is way too good for that to happen. Expect a scoring fest. ND Defense is horrible and the reason they are in the spot they are. Charlie needs to go because he wasn't a HC when he was hired and he isn't any closer to being one now. But look no farther than the defense and the lack of speed on D for the reason the Irish are going hunting for a new coach.
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Posted by ndukechi
3 years ago

Unfortunately you really don't know the ND situation at all. Weis certainly underperformed, but the top 10 recruiting classes that ND hasn't gotten since maybe Davie and Holtz were the result of his hard work. And giving Willingham credit for Weis' early wins is ridiculous especially considering Willingham's recruiting is what got ND in such a bad spot to begin with. No top program only recruits 3 OL in 3 yrs, but that is what Willingham did in fact do. Bottomline is nobody has performed well on the field since Holtz, but at least Weis got ND back to the top in grad rate and in snagging quality players like Holtz did regularly. Maybe Stoops or Kelly will return them back to the top on the field as well. Also ND has covered every underdog spread so far this season and with the recent record against Stanford I expect an easy cover here.
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Posted by StevenGA1011
3 years ago

ILL +20.5 PIT -1
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Top Response

Posted by dandyjefe
3 years ago

"So Long Weis! Nice knowing you!!!! Stanford will prevail, give Weis the points. Take Stanford -10 and give Weis a kick in the place were it hurts for recruiting so bad."

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Sports Betting Headlines »

Featured Free Play
MLB: Colorado vs. Toronto
Pick:
Toronto
Start:
June 19, 2013 - 7:07 PM
Capper:
Bryan Power
Offered at:
betonline @ -150 Toronto
Analysis:

1* Toronto (7:07 ET): The Toronto Blue Jays came into the 2013 season w/ plenty of hype.  They quickly fell on their face, and in fact still remain in last place of a very competitive American League East.  But recently, things are trending upward in the form of a season-high seven-game win streak for the Jays.  Wednesday sees them going for a three-game sweep of the Rockies. I think they'll get it.....

Toronto allowed three runs yesterday. It was the most runs they'd allowed in the last six games.  In the previous five, they allowed a total of four.  One of those was a start from Mark Buehrle, who gets the nod here.  Last time out, the southpaw went seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, as Toronto won 8-0. In Buehrle's last two starts, he's allowed just 1 ER over 14 IP.  Buehrle has an all-time 32-13 team start record in Interleague Play.

Meanwhile, Colorado has dropped 22 of 27 games vs. the American League dating back to last year. That includes a 3-9 record this year, averaging just 3.0 runs per game.  They have never won in Toronto, batting just .176 in eight games here. Starter Juan Nicasio is winless in his last five starts and has yet to make it past the sixth inning all season. Toronto and Buehrle are just too hot right now. 1* Toronto.

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