- Even Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is starting to feel the chill. He whipped out a Notre Dame letterman's jacket over his Notre Dame sweatshirt and Notre Dame sweatpants. Question is, does he wear Notre Dame socks?
- Ambrose Wooden, Chinedum Ndukwe and Rhema McKnight seemed extra peppy despite the cold. Surprising for McKnight, who grew up in Southern California.
- Weis had a long conversation with Brady Quinn and quarterbacks coach Peter Vaas during stretching discussing different plays we couldn't overhear.
- Defensive backs coach Bill Lewis gave a long lecture to junior cornerback Terrail Lambert, explaining some sort of coverage strategy.
- In a defensive backs drill, Tom Zbikowski lined up as a faux receiver and then went after safety Kyle McCarthy, even pushing the second-string player at one point.
- Reserve linebacker Anthony Vernaglia was not at practice for the second straight day.
- Sophomore fullback Asaph Schwapp was also not at practice.
- D.J. Hord and Brandon Erickson, sweatpants on, rode the stationary bikes.
A few other tidbits:
The first winner of our prediction contest is Brian J. Smith of Oakland, Calif. Congratulations to Brian, who beat out reader Mike for the prize by about four hours. He submitted his final score Wednesday. His package of free Notre Dame stuff (OK, nothing that good. No Brady Quinn autographs or Darius Walker gloves included.) is on its way by Friday. Don't forget to submit your UNC prediction to mrothstein@jg.net.
Speaking of Quinn, he's one of five finalists for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, which is given to the top senior quarterback. The other candidates are Houston's Kevin Kolb; Ohio State's Troy Smith; Michigan State's Drew Stanton and BYU's John Beck. The award will be announced on Dec. 1.
From the boys at Everydayshouldbesaturday.com via YouTube, one of the funnier things we've seen this year. It being election season, fans are making up fake attack ads against national championship contenders. Check out the link to view it. High comedy and excellent craftsmanship. http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=2771
I'm sure you've seen it, but Michigan State coach John L. Smith will not be back next season in East Lansing. He makes the second lame duck coach in Notre Dame's universe, joining UNC's John Bunting.
Earlier this season, Quinn talked about the band Watershed, a Columbus, Ohio based group his uncle is involved with. Well....much to our surprise, Watershed is playing with the Dead Schembechlers (great name) at the Hate Michigan Rally in Columbus on Nov. 17. Wanna go, you can buy tickets here. We spoke with Quinn. He was pretty stoked about it, but won't be going. He has senior day against Army the next day in South Bend. http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:5SFsyV092CkJ:www.ticketmaster.com/event/05003D1EACBA92E3%3Fartistid%3D773559%26majorcatid%3D10001%26minorcatid%3D60+Watershed+Dead+Schembechlers&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Hey this guy who bloggs for NCAA Football is going to the ND vs. UNC game this weekend and wants to know the best things to do.
“But I need help folks! If you’ve been to South Bend, and even better, if you make the trip every weekend let me know where to go, what to see, what to eat! I am sure I can figure out my way around, and getting lost on the palatial campus would be fun for a while. I wouldn’t mind some landmarks to look out for though. So if there are any golden domers out there, or visiting fans who can appreciate the place, speak up. And if you plan on being near Touchdown Jesus this weekend as well, keep a look out for me.”
www.everygamecounts.blogspot.com
Posted by: Chris Gunderman | November 02, 2006 at 03:40 PM