The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

03 Oct 2013

The ACC School Mount Rushmores: Notre Dame FINAL

This one was so very hard.  Notre Dame has enough names to fill out several Mount Rushmores.  One for coaches, one for quarterbacks, one for running backs, one for other football players, one for basketball, etc.  And when comparing players to coaches, the players had such fleeting careers.  Guys like Gipper, Montana, and Brown only played for four years maximum.  The coaches get to stay for a lot longer, leaving a deeper mark on programs.  And that is definitely true with Notre Dame.

We left it up to the fans to help and help they did–here and elsewhere.  And for Notre Dame, we are going to add coaches Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz.  Want to know what a mark Parseghian left on the sporting world?  His first name is often an answer to a crossword puzzle clue.  How many mothers and grandmothers would not know what goalposts are, but know his name.  But in all seriousness… his record was outstanding… 95-17-4.  Two national titles, seven years apart.  In the 10 years before Parseghian, Notre Dame was 51-48.  In the year before he took over, Notre Dame was 2-7.  Parseghian restored Notre Dame football at a time of need.

Lou Holtz?  For all the advantages Notre Dame has, Lou Holtz took over a program that was 30-26-1 in the five preceding years.  He went 100-35-2, including a national championship.  Only Rockne has won more games for the Fighting Irish.  By comparison, in the 5 years before Lou and the 13 years after him, Notre Dame’s record has been 121-94, only slightly above .500.  Holtz’s accomplishments stand apart from his contemporaries.

So, with all due respect to the other great players and coaches, the final Notre Dame Mount Rushmore is: Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, and Lou Holtz.

Other Mount Rushmores:

  1. Maryland Preliminary   Maryland Final
  2. Boston College    Boston College Final
  3. Wake Forest   Wake Forest Final
  4. Miami   Miami Final
  5. Virginia Tech   Virginia Tech Final
  6. Syracuse   Syracuse Final
  7. Virginia   Virginia Final
  8. Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh Final
  9. North Carolina State  North Carolina State Final
  10. Clemson   Clemson Final
  11. Georgia Tech  Georgia Tech Final
  12. Louisville  Lousiville Final
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Duke
  15. North Carolina
  16. Florida State

For more on the Notre Dame decisions, see the original discussion…

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Mount Rushmore, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
02 Oct 2013

The Confidential ACC Football Top 10 Poll: Week 5

We are into October now… and the Confidential correspondents have identified some trends.  So how do the ACC teams stack up?  Well, here is the Confidential Correspondents Football top 10 Poll for Week 5.  Remember, we include Notre Dame and Louisville.  This year, we’ll start with team number 10 and work our way to #1.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Correspondent Poll, Football, Opinion, Poll, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , ,
01 Oct 2013
3 Comments

The ACC School Mount Rushmores: Louisville FINAL

The Louisville Mount Rushmore was a tough one.  The general consensus was that–while Johnny Unitas was a superstar–his star was so NFL-related as to question his inclusion in a Louisville Mount Rushmore.  The Confidential is not too bold as to ignore criticism.  Where, as here, there is a legitimate beef, the Confidential listens.  We removed Unitas from the list.

With two holes to fill, the decision becomes a bit easier.  Darrell Griffith is beloved to Louisville hoops fans.  Unlike Unitas, he did most of his real damage in college–benefiting the program directly.  He left school as the all-time leading scorer.  His jersey has been retired.  He won a national championship.  He even earned the moniker Dr. Dunkenstein–an exciting player coming before Phi Slamma Jamma and Michael Jordan.  He would have been #4, but now he is #3.

The battle for #4 becomes tougher.  On the one hand, Rick Pitino just won a national championship.  On the other hand, Rick Pitino is at Louisville because of athletic director Tom Jurich.  Although the Confidential’s initial thought was to defer Jurich for a later edition, the fan outcry was significant.  Jurich hired Pitino.  He hired Charlie Strong. Both of those programs are top 10 and headed to our beloved ACC.  He has been in charge of Louisville’s rapid climb in revenue–despite the paltry sums generated by the TV revenue from Big East (and lesser conference) membership.  Louisville sports is as powerful as it has ever been–and most of that is due to the efforts of Tom Jurich.  Someday he will have a field, arena, or stadium named after him.  For now, he will have to settle for a spot on the Confidential’s Louisville Mount Rushmore.

The Final Louisville Mount Rushmore: Denny Crum, Howard Schnellenberger, Darrell Griffith, and Tom Jurich.

Other Mount Rushmores:

  1. Maryland Preliminary   Maryland Final
  2. Boston College    Boston College Final
  3. Wake Forest   Wake Forest Final
  4. Miami   Miami Final
  5. Virginia Tech   Virginia Tech Final
  6. Syracuse   Syracuse Final
  7. Virginia   Virginia Final
  8. Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh Final
  9. North Carolina State  North Carolina State Final
  10. Clemson   Clemson Final
  11. Georgia Tech  Georgia Tech Final
  12. Louisville
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Duke
  15. North Carolina
  16. Florida State

For more on the Louisville decisions, see the original discussion…

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Mount Rushmore, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , ,
30 Sep 2013
3 Comments

The ACC School Mount Rushmores: Georgia Tech FINAL

We left it up to the fans to decide the final two spots.  And we are not ready to announce the final Georgia Tech Mount Rushmore.

There was a clamoring of support for John Heisman, of Heisman Trophy fame.  Fair enough.  The trophy alone is a reason to give him some consideration.  Although he spread out his work over several schools, he did win 100 games for Georgia Tech–in an era of 9 game seasons.  And he spent most of his time with the Yellow Jackets.  That’s good enough for the Confidential to land the third spot.

The fourth spot is tougher.  But Bobby Cremins really put Georgia Tech on the hoops map–especially during the glory days of the 1980s.  Moreover, he took over a struggling program–and yet made it nationally relevant.   Nine straight Big Dance appearances during one particular span.

So that gives us a Georgia Tech Mount Rushmore of: Dodd, Price, Heisman, and Cremins.

Other Mount Rushmores:

 

 

  1. Maryland Preliminary   Maryland Final
  2. Boston College    Boston College Final
  3. Wake Forest   Wake Forest Final
  4. Miami   Miami Final
  5. Virginia Tech   Virginia Tech Final
  6. Syracuse   Syracuse Final
  7. Virginia   Virginia Final
  8. Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh Final
  9. North Carolina State  North Carolina State Final
  10. Clemson   Clemson Final
  11. Georgia Tech
  12. Louisville
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Duke
  15. North Carolina
  16. Florida State

For more on the Georgia Tech decisions, see the original discussion…

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Mount Rushmore, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , ,
29 Sep 2013
7 Comments

Lane Kiffin Fired at USC

ESPN is reporting that Lane Kiffin was fired this morning upon the team’s arrival back in LA after the loss to Arizona State last night. While I tend to be sympathetic to anyone losing a job, Kiffin is not one to feel sorry for. This guy has no credibility from his demeanor and disastrous stints with the Raiders and the Vols. It is obvious that the scholarship reductions hurt him, but his attitude probably did him in. He milked his father’s connections and people were foolish enough to buy his sales pitches. This will obviously be a sought after job as Kiffin winds up being a QB coach on an NFL staff next year. While Bill O’Brien has been the role model at Penn St. for how to handle these situations, Kiffin has been the antithesis. ESPN called Kiffin the Miley Cyrus of coaching – great line.

On another front, Syracuse gets their first official ACC game on Saturday against Clemson – rough way to be welcomed into the conference – but great to start the schedule.

Posted by tjcuseacc in ACC only
28 Sep 2013
10 Comments

Thoughts on College Sports: Part I, Title IX

The folks over at Frank the Tank are having an outstanding debate on various topics influencing college sports, including payment of players.  The Confidential encourages you to add that blog to your regular reading list.  But it also got the Confidential thinking about Title IX.  In fact, the Confidential proposed on major revision…

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Opinion, Other Sports and tagged , ,
27 Sep 2013

Breaking News on D4

The board of reps for D1 has proposed D4. Here is the CBS article. What are your thoughts?
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/23874003/faculty-athletics-representatives-formally-proposes-division-4-for-ncaa

Posted by lenvillecards in Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football, Louisville Correspondent, News
24 Sep 2013
11 Comments

NCAA Reform- Conference Expansion, Division 4 and Free Agency?

It feels good to win. And why wouldn’t it? It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating. It’s motivating. But sometimes winning just doesn’t seem possible. Kansas football. Clemson basketball in the Dean Dome. The Big Ten in population growth. Hopeless causes. Or are they? Maybe they’re just a few moves away. I think the NCAA is too.

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Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in ACC only, Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Opinion, UNC Correspondent
24 Sep 2013
7 Comments

Whither West Virginia

Last night, the Confidential unwittingly entered into a Twitter-battle with a West Virginia blogger.  The Confidential noted that West Virginia had become responsible for two things lately: bad expansion rumors and bad football.  One such twitterer came to the forefront, presumably seeking to take credit for being the blogger that was the source of those rumors.  Some day, the Confidential will appear on some “show” to discuss expansion, i.e. whether this blogger had sources providing rumors that, while not coming true, were rumors that could have been true, had something not happened.  Or something like that.

But a bigger question remains… what is the deal with West Virginia?  And is the West Virginia-Big XII marriage a happy one?

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Conference Realignment, Football and tagged ,
23 Sep 2013
1 Comment

The Confidential ACC Football Top 10 Poll: Week 4

With four weeks wrapped up, the Confidential correspondents generated a lot more similarity in their polls this week.  So how do the ACC teams stack up?  Well, here is the Confidential Correspondents Football top 10 Poll for Week 4.  Remember, we include Notre Dame and Louisville.  This year, we’ll start with team number 10 and work our way to #1.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Correspondent Poll, Football, Opinion, Poll, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , ,

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