It’s somewhat satisfying to see Notre Dame figure out what the SEC has known for a little while now. But it’s a bit sad as well as it’s an acknowledgement that, yes, this is what the great game of college football will look like without drastic changes.

Notre Dame’s approach in this new era of “barnstorming” is pretty clever. They will play some mid-majors in fertile recruiting territory and move the games to larger venues where the Notre Dame brand recognition will allow them more fans. Hmmm…Jacksonville, Orlando, New Orleans, and Dallas. Not much prep talent in those parts, is there? So Notre Dame wins all around…they get a game on their schedule that’s a likely win, they play it in a nearby neutral professional-quality venue that allows their national fan base to outnumber the smaller local following for the “home” team, and they play the game in the backyard of some of the nation’s best high school prospects. Oh, and they even pocket the gate receipts. My hat’s off to them.

As much as bowl-system purists will complain, the reality is that there is just too much at stake to pay much attention to emotional and hypothetical appeals to play a tougher-than-necessary schedule. Such things are nice for those of us playing offseason parlor games and making lists of the greatest schedules ever, but we are not those whose jobs depend on win-loss records, titles, and postseason money. Notre Dame obviously recognizes this reality, and their scheduling will reflect it.

Is it bad for the fans? Of course it is. I’ve admitted that. In fact, I’d expect those most upset by this “red flag” as CFR calls it to be at the forefront of those pushing for change because the current system of incentives is incompatible with the kinds of schedules we’d like to see. I’m glad to see it. When a program like Notre Dame takes a stand on this issue, people pay attention.

Something has to give.

The offseason rubber-chicken circuit is in full-swing, and Urban Meyer got a nice little dig in at the Tennessee program recently at a stop in Daytona Beach.

He noted that the Gators overcame some issues — not the least of which were injuries to key players and getting acclimated to a new coaching staff and a new system. He also noted that one Florida rival was not as fortunate.

“The school up in Knoxville (Tenn.) folded when they went through some hard times,” Meyer said.

Of course that’s true, but it’s not what we’re used to hearing from any coach not wearing a visor. No comment yet from Spurrier on Meyer’s origami last year in Columbia.

Who knew that this whole debate over USC’s Dynasty was really about the house where Reggie Bush’s family holed up?

Tech coach Chang A. Lee has handed over the playcalling duties to offensive coordinator and former Auburn signal-caller Patrick Nix. I can understand Gailey wanting to take a step back – he’s only a year or so removed from a heart attack, and managing the Tech program is stress enough for any man. But Nix?

Nix is, if you remember, the gentleman who instructed Reggie Ball to spike the ball on third down as an astonished Chan Gailey gave the world’s best “WTF?!?!?” look on national television. In addition to his offensive coordinator duties, Nix is also quarterbacks coach. Since George Godsey threw a perfect pass to Tim Wansley in 2001, the Tech quarterback position has been a nice jambalaya of transfers, position changes, zero depth, and the stuck-in-neutral career of Reggie Ball. If he can do for the Tech playcalling what he’s done for the development of Ball, well…that’ll be just fine.

GSB put it well once again…imagine the contrast in the season opener. Charlie Weis called plays for the Super Bowl champ and poured gasoline on the Notre Dame offense. Patrick Nix is still trying to find a way to get the ball to Calvin Johnson that isn’t a fade or a 12-yard pass to the sideline.

I have to admit that this isn’t a particularly passionate topic for me. I’m only a halfhearted Falcons fan, and that’s only because they’re in my backyard and you can’t really escape that as a sports fan. My interest in the NFL is orders of magnitude less than my interest in college football, and I mostly try to keep up with how our Dawg alums are doing. It really only matters a tiny bit more to me whether NFL-bound Bulldogs go to Atlanta instead of Pittsburgh or Seattle.

Terence Moore tackles the issue in today’s AJC, and I can’t really disagree with the sentiment – such a legacy doesn’t seem accidental and is hard to overlook. But such hindsight makes for a pretty easy indictment that glosses over some of the issue.

Besides, why would you want to subject some good Dawgs to the trainwreck that has been Falcons football over the years?

The Falcons’ first obligation of course is to build a team with the best possible pieces, whether they went to Georgia, Florida, or Mount Union. I’d love to see more players from my high school at Georgia, but there are better players from other schools. Having a few high-profile Dawgs might help ticket sales and marketing, but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the impact from a few elite NFL all-pros and a winning product.

Anyone who follows college recruiting knows how tough a job it is to identify talent and build a program. When Hines Ward left college, he was a special all-around player but a small, relatively inexperienced receiver with unspectacular stats. The decision to take him over Jammi German is an obvious no-brainer now, but in 1998 it was a question of Ward’s intangibles over German’s physical gifts, and it wasn’t as clear-cut then. Ward had to work very hard in his first few NFL seasons to improve as a professional receiver and earn a starting job. One might have expected Andre Hastings to have a stellar pro career after he left in 1992, but of course he didn’t. For every Dawg Moore identifies as a difference-maker, there is a Stinchcomb or a Sullivan who fizzled at the next level.

It’s no different for picks from any school. Moore wonders if a few more Georgia players might have prevented some of the really bad years in Falcon history (and there are many), but if there’s been a problem with the Falcons over the years, it’s been their shocklingly bad evaluation of talent from any school and much less some systemic policy to avoid Georgia players. If the Falcons had drafted Georgia players, you could be fairly certain they would have spent a high pick on someone like Bernard Williams.

So do I want to see Shockley or Blue or Jean-Gilles or anyone else get selected by the Falcons? Sure. Why not? I’ll get to see them every week. I’m not going to get bent out of shape about it though. The Falcons have much better front-office personnel now, and Rich McKay brought several Dawgs to Tampa Bay while he was GM there. The important thing from the Falcon perspective is that McKay and staff are competent, and any player drafted – Dawg or not – will at least make sense and address a need.