Notre Dame fans are in the midst of a season to remember as their beloved Fighting Irish football team posted an impressive 12-0 regular season record and will vie for college football’s prestigious National Championship title come January. Fans are getting ready for the big showdown against Alabama by stocking up on Fighting Irish merchandise before college football’s championship game kicks off January 7, 2013 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL.

This news could not make Fighting Irish fans any happier as they have waited a very long time for Notre Dame to return to national prominence. Since winning their last national championship in 1988, Notre Dame has seen a number of coaches come and go in South Bend. However, it appears the Fighting Irish have finally found their guy in Brian Kelly who has helped resurrect this once proud football program.

How did Notre Dame get there exactly? Let’s take a look.

Good Defense

All season long, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish relied on their defense to help them win games. This was especially the case during the beginning of the season when Notre Dame was still figuring out their quarterback situation and getting Everett Golson acclimated to the playing at the collegiate level.

In wins over the Purdue Boilermakers, Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines in the month of September, the Fighting Irish relied heavily on their defense while their offense failed to score more than 20 points in any of those games. However, after those three games, the offense seemed to get going for Notre dame as they throttled the Miami Hurricanes 41-3.

A Little Bit of Luck

As is the case in just about every national championship season, there was a bit of luck on the side of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this season. A controversial call in the Stanford game allowed Notre Dame to escape with a 20-13 overtime victory. Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor appeared to have broken the plane of the goal line in overtime to tie the game but the video replay officials upheld the ruling on the field; Notre Dame dodged a bullet.

Notre Dame also escaped a triple-overtime game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on November 3rd. The effort Pitt gave in that game was easily their best of the season but it was not enough to upend the Fighting Irish.

In addition to those two close calls, the Irish needed a last minute drive against the Purdue Boilermakers to avoid overtime and win their second game of the season. Backup quarterback Tommy Rees who came into the game for an ineffective Everett Golson led the game-winning, field goal drive. Without that drive by Rees, there’s not telling how Notre Dame’s season would have played out.

Help from Other Teams

Notre Dame was not only fortunate to win a couple of close games this season but they also received some help from other teams around the country as well. On November 17th, the Fighting Irish were ranked No. 3 in the BCS standings and took care of business against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. After that win, Notre Dame turned its attention to the Kansas State Wildcats and Oregon Ducks who were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the BCS. As luck would have it, both teams lost their game that night and the Irish were able to jump up to the top spot in the BCS poll.

Without Kansas State and Oregon losing their games, it would have been unlikely that Notre Dame would have finished the season in the top two of the BCS standings.

Whether you love or hate Notre Dame, it appears as if the Fighting Irish are here to stay among the nation’s elite college football programs thanks to the hard work of head coach Brian Kelly and the dynamic play of players like Everett Golson, Mantei T’eo and Tyler Eifert. It’s never too late to join up on the bandwagon and score yourself a Notre Dame jersey to call your own.

Now that we are 12 weeks into the NCAA college football season, we know a few more details about the national championship game.

(1) The SEC run of six straight BCS championships is in jeopardy of coming to an end this year. Alabama was #1 in the polls for most of the season, but was upset last weekend by Texas A&M and their quarterback Johnny Manziel. Nicknamed “Johnny Football”, this talented freshman went into Tuscaloosa and racked up 345 yards of total offense against one of the stingiest defenses in the country. With the loss, Alabama dropped to #4 in the standings and is a long shot to jump back into the top two. Even though the SEC currently has the 4-9 spots of the BCS rankings, only #1 and #2 matter when the season ends.

(2) We’ve got three very talented teams battling for the top two spots. Kansas State is in the driver’s seat at #1, and has a remaining game against a ranked Texas team. If Kansas State wins out, they should be ranked no lower than #2. Oregon, with Chip Kelly’s top scoring collegiate offense, is sitting in the #2 spot. They have two remaining games against ranked opponents, and then the Pac 12 title game, which should also be against a ranked USC or UCLA. It’s hard to imagine them dropping from their position if they win out. That leaves Notre Dame at #3. The Fighting Irish are enjoying their best season since 1988, when Lou Holtz was at the helm. However, unlike 1988, the Fighting Irish are currently on the outside looking in. They have to pass either Kansas State or Oregon to get to the national championship game. With only one game remaining against a ranked opponent (USC), they need help to get into the second spot.

While I personally dislike the BCS system, and am a huge proponent of a playoff system (8 team if I had my way), I am very intrigued to watch the final few weeks of the college football season play out. Best of luck to the undefeated teams, as well as those with the opportunity to play spoiler down the stretch. Regardless of who wins, I just want to see good football.

Here we are, just 5 weeks away from the start of the college football season.  The first games of the season will be Thursday August 30th, but most teams kick off their season on Saturday September 1st.  For a football junkie like myself, I’m envisioning a Labor Day weekend filled with good football and plenty of cheers as my team takes the field for the first time since last year’s bowl game. 

While I will admit that I’m no fan of the BCS, I do like the fact that “every game counts.”  In college football, there is no preseason.  Teams get a few weeks to practice, but when they put on the pads Labor Day weekend, there is little margin for error.  One loss could mean the end to a national championship dream.  With that in mind, there are a couple of opening weekend matchups that really intrigue me:  On Friday August 31st, ESPN is treating us to Boise State vs. Michigan State.  Boise State gets a chance to prove they belong with the big boys as they once again open their season with the toughest game on their schedule. 

On Saturday September 1st, most everyone else starts their season.  Top games include Notre Dame vs. Navy in the Emerald Isle Classic (played in Dublin), Clemson vs. Auburn (played in the Georgia Dome) and Michigan vs. Alabama (played at Cowboys stadium).  Not a bad way to kick off the season if you ask me…

Big weekend in sports coming up. NLCS, ALCS, NFL, College Football, BCS implications, Rivalries, Cross-town Rival High School Games (somewhere probably), tailgating, etc. Lot of action. Lot. Of. Action.

The NLCS kicked off last night with a Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers out-hit the Phillies 14-8, but left 10 men on base, compared to Philly’s 5. Andre Either and Matt Kemp combined to go 5-10 but only managed to score once between them.

Clayton Kershaw, 21, took the loss and Cole Hamels got the win, though he didn’t pitch much better than his counterpart. James Loney and Manny Ramirez each homered off him before he was pulled after five and a third.

Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez each homered for Philly and Ryan Howard drove in two runs. Brad Lidge came in to get the save, but not before walking one and giving up a hit.

Russell Martin and Shane Victorino jawed back and forth all game long. It is always fun when the series gets heated in the first inning of Game 1.

Game 2 this afternoon will see Pedro Martinez face off against Vincente Padilla in a 100% unpredictable match-up. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth will each be trying for their first hit of the NLCS.

Things I didn’t know before either today or last night:

Chan Ho Park can still throw 96.

The only guy in the Phillies starting line-up under the age of 30 is Victorino (except Ryan Howard, who will be 30 on November 19th). The Flyin’ Hawaiian will turn 29 in November.

If you throw the ball into the dugout on a double play try and can’t get out of the inning, Manny Ramirez will hit a home run and make you feel bad about it.

Jim Thome does a fist-pump-whoop combo when Manny homers.

Randy Wolf should wear his cleats at all-times because he just might pinch run. That’s how slow Jim Thome is. Do you think Thome even brings a baseball glove to the game?

Game 1 of the ALCS is tonight. I’m saying Angels in 7 over the New York Yankees. John Lackey versus CC Sabathia. Do you remember Sabathia down the stretch last year for the Milwaulee Brewers? Silly.

Torii Hunter, Vlad Guerrero, Kendry Morales, and Bobby Abreu will bring some power into Yankee Stadium’s launching pad that may be tempered by some not ideal weather. Derek Jeter is used to it, Mr. November has been in cold weather playoff games enough in his career. Mark Teixeira a big strong dude, but it just seems to me that he is not going to be a big fan of cold weather. I have a feeling about this.

The biggest question concerning the weather though is will Alex Rodriguez’s lady friend be sitting in the front row if it is cold, rainy, and windy? This is a commitment testing event for their relationship. The many cuts to her cheering probably make Chris Robinson (her ex-husband) Jealous Again.

Did you know Kate Hudson’s dad, Kurt Russell, was a pretty good minor league baseball player before blowing apart his shoulder and returning to his acting career?

So that’s baseball. It’s also a huge weekend in the NFL.

Spotlight on New Orleans where the undefeated Saints play the undefeated New York Giants. It bothers me when radio and TV people say it’s going to be Drew Brees versus Eli Manning. It’s not. Brees and Manning will never be on the field at the same time until they do a man hug at the end of the game.

It is going to be Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, and the rest of the New Orleans offense against Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and the rest of the Giants defense.

And then it will be Manning, Steve Smith, Brandon Jacobs and the rest of the Giant offense against Darren Sharper, Charles Grant, Jonathan Casillas (yes, Casillas, I’m a homer, a little love to the Wisconsin Badgers) and the rest of the Saints defense.

The Vikings put their undefeated record on the line when they host the recently fined Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens. Joe Flacco is a guy I like quite a bit, and a guy I like to call Joey Delaware but I will not wince when Jared Allen cattle ropes him. If Cedric Benson can rush for 100+ yards on Baltimore then Adrian Peterson can rush for that plus a bunch more. Hopefully for Minnesota Brett Favre will be doing his post-handoff jump throw fake thing a lot while Peterson is breaking tackles.

The Chicago Bears go to Atlanta to play the Falcons. Matt Ryan, Roddy White, and Michael Turner set the San Francisco 49er defense on fire last week. The Bears will want to see Jay Cutler find Devin Hester for some TD’s early so they can just run, run, run with Matt Forte.

The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cleveland Browns in what should be a close game for at least the first five minutes.

Speaking of the Steelers, check out the ESPN commercial with Snoop Dogg in the Reebok Ascent 2009 Sideline Drift Full Zip Fleece Hooded Jacket. Start looking for these and other Drift items on all NFL sidelines.

In the college game this weekend USC travels to South Bend to play Notre Dame. Jimmy Clausen and Matt Barkley are another QB vs QB favorite match-up for the guys in the studios. So is Sam Bradford vs Colt McCoy when the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns go at in the Red River Rivalry. Those two teams love each other.

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide play the Ol’ Ball Coach and the South Carolina Gamecocks. My favorite college football player this season is Tide RB Mark Ingram.

Boise State already narrowly survived Tulsa and Cincinnati took care of South Florida to keep the hopes of BCS haters alive that someone outside of the Big Ten, Pac-10, SEC, Big 12, or ACC will make a run at the Championship Game.

Tim Tebow is probably receiving accolades somewhere, too.

It is a big weekend for sports. October is a terrible month for marriages and TV remote control control. This is my first October as a married guy. I think it will be important to set a precedent for future years that the MLB playoffs and the NFL and big college football games will be watched. So when I lose this battle, somebody please be prepared to link me to some highlights and provide detailed and accurate recaps.