Sometimes, life smacks you in the face, and shouts “Wake Up!” Breaks you from your routine and causes you to pay attention once again. Who knows if it is for a reason or just coincidence, but it happens. We have felt it with the recent deaths in the entertainment world of Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and now Steve McNair.

In football, shock can happen any week, and South Bend Blarney thought it would look at some of the (good) most shocking moments (click here for the bad ones) in recent Notre Dame history:

The Good Ones

The Weis offense takes over the skies in ‘05 and ‘06. Quite simply, the most exciting Notre Dame offenses I have ever seen (especially in ‘05 with Quinn, Walker, Samardzija, and Stovall.) Both averaged at least 31ppg, with ‘05 closer to 40ppg (2nd highest in modern Notre Dame history behind the ‘68 squad). While ND fans love Lou, I remember him being quoted in reference to throwing 19 passes in a half, “I don’t ever want to see that happen again.” Well, Weis gave the finger to conservatism, he would throw it deep on 4th down, throw it 100 times if necessary, throw it until Brady’s arm fell off. A Notre Dame offense with a 3,000 yard passer, 1000 yard rusher, and two 1,000 yard receivers? Yep, and I will remember it always.

Singin’ in the rain at MSU in ‘06. The Spartans have Notre Dames’ number. Period. Only 2 miracle wins have kept the Irish from losing like 10 straight to Sparty ( even though the Irish should win 3 out of 4 against MSU). ‘06 looked like a similar deal with the MSU spread offense racking up yards and points and led by 17 in the second half. Then, Brady caught fire throwing touchdowns, and Terrail Lambert had the biggest day of his football life with a pick 6 to give the Irish the lead, and another pick to seal the deal.

Reggie Brooks lets go of his “stonehands” in the Snow Bowl. The 1992 Irish had what I believe to be their most potent rushing attack ever-using studs Reggie Brooks and Jerome Bettis to run over most of their competition. But, needing a 2 point conversion trailing Penn State with just a few seconds left, Irish fate was held in the passing arm of Rick Mirer. Looking for Lake Dawson, umm… wait, Irv Smith, no… wait again, and again, and again, it was 5th option Reggie Brooks making an unbelievable diving catch in the endzone to snatch victory. Lou revealed how Brooks couldn’t catch the ball if his life depended on it in practice, but in this moment, his hands saved the Irish.

The battle for #1 with FSU in ‘93. Just the intro sends shivers down my spine. Florida State was the new “it” team and the Irish were supposed to cave in to Charlie Ward’s “fast break” and Seminole speed. Well, the Irish had some big timers themselves like Bobby Taylor, Jeff Burris, and Aaron Taylor, and they matched the Seminole athletes along with showing how rough they could play in the trenches. Notre Dame jumped out to a lead and hung on for the 31-24 victory with Shawn Wooden knocking down a last second Ward pass.

Catholics versus Convicts. Maybe the catchiest t-shirt slogan of all time, though these Irish were actually as rough and tough as anyone. Miami, the cockiest program of that era (and possibly of all time), had been pimp-slapping the Irish for the last couple years, racking up points the way Super Model Naomi Campbell racks up assault charges. This Irish team was different though, with big plays from the Rocket, Ricky Watters, Frank Stams, Pat Terrell, and an Irish “D” that forced 7 turnovers. Steve Walsh and Miami didn’t back down though, and almost pulled out the victory, but Pat Terrell had the answer again (already had a pick 6), knocking down Miami’s 2 point conversion.

Love these shocks. Do you guys have any other moments that stand out to you?

So the talk recently has been about ND’s schedules. For instance, this season the schedule is perceived to be so easy that people like Dave Curtis at Sporting News are predicting an undefeated season (thanks for the jinx, by the way). In 2010, TCU, Utah, and Tulsa will (likely) be added. In general, the athletics directors (both White and Swarbrick) have adopted an 8-4-1 model with 8 home games, 4 away games, and 1 neutral site game. Moreover, the big shot programs don’t seem to be appearing as future opponents. Clearly, this isn’t your father’s schedule, but here’s why that’s ok:

The other big programs are doing it – I’m not even sure that Penn State has an away game this year. Most big-timers schedule out of conference patsies, or refuse to travel outside their home regions. Because of the huge punishment for losing, the way the BCS is set up makes it imperative that you plan winnable schedules.

These schedules aren’t all that bad – While I’m probably rationalizing, it’s not like ND has decided to join the Ivy League. These are still legit, if not top of the line, programs. Plus, USC and Michigan are typically top 15 teams. Additionally:
• Utah went undefeated last year and won a BCS bowl over a team ranked #1 until the SEC championship game
• Tulsa and TCU are talented and hungry
• There are still no D-1AA teams
• Most teams are still BCS caliber, and whether they are up (USC) or down (Washington) can’t be predicted years in advance

The EA Sports NCAA model – You know how it is, the game features an ND team in the doldrums. The only way to keep from getting fired in the first few seasons of dynasty mode is to schedule cupcakes in order to have a winning record, pull in blue chip recruits, and begin to take on better opponents. There is brave scheduling, and there is stupid scheduling. Swarbrick could demand that the football team stick to some lofty standard from the 1940s and play each of the SEC West and Big XII South teams, but then he and Weis would be fired when they lost 12 games by an average of 60 points.

Eat what’s on your plate before you ask for more – First things first domers: show how you can actually beat the teams on your schedule now, and then we’ll talk about Florida and Oklahoma. I’m terrified of Nevada, and if that doesn’t say something about the state of ND football, I don’t know what does.

Dress to impress – Top flight recruits don’t want to go to a team in northern Indiana that goes 6-6 every year. ND needs wins, and needs them now. USC didn’t get where it is by playing Ohio State when Pete Carroll was sweet talking Reggie Bush.

I love the idea of an ND team that will play anyone at any time, and I hope they get back there. But in the meantime, they need to try to build some momentum. Maybe in 2 years they’ll be there, but this is a team that lost to Navy just 2 years ago, and, but for Hawaii, looked to be in a quick tailspin last fall. Is it really that disrespectable to lighten the load a little?

The freshman is coming. Defensive player of the year. And he intends to make an impact right away. His name is Manti Te’o, and and no running back or quarterback on Notre Dame’s schedule will feel truly safe for the next four years. No Irish defensive freshman has arrived with more hype, not Ross Browner or Bob Crable (please refer to Notre Dame historian/super nerd, Lou Somogyi), not a Golic (Mike or Bob), not big, bad, defensive player of the year Kory Minor in ‘95. Nobody.

He is 6′2, and 230lbs of bad-ass. He is so muscular, his Lats reach from his shoulder blade to the bottom of his calf. He is so muscular, he volunteers at Honolulu’s “Big Kahuna’s Recycling Shop”, and crushes cans into “dense 30lb briquettes” with his Pecs when the hydraulic presses aren’t working. Here’s what the scouts say about him:

“He’s a rare athlete who can slip blockers with good lateral quickness or shed using his strong hand technique. He’s an explosive tackler who runs through ball carriers and limits second efforts. Has great burst and closing quickness, and excels attacking off the perimeter.”

For all his strength and skill, even Te’o knows he must improve to play linebacker for the Irish from the opening whistle. So, he implemented a new workout routine this summer to get ready, and you have to check it out:

A Workout Monday

7:00 a.m.-8:45 a.m.-Jumps in the Rec’s Olympic-sized pool, and swims 154 laps (9 miles). He then texts Michael Phelps and calls him a little girl for only doing 8 miles during his training.

9:00 a.m.- 9:45 a.m.-(yeah, the first part only took slightly less than 2 hours)-Breakfast omelette consisting of 12 eggs, 2 tomatoes, 1lb of bacon, 1lb of ham, and 1lb of pepperjack cheese, and 1/2lb of chopped onions.

10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.-Weight Training. 40 Bench reps at 400lbs. Curls using 200lbs. 25 squats at half a ton. Isometrics (holding a sitting position for an entire episode of Lost). More tricep, back, quad, and calf workouts than Hans, Franz, and Ahhnold could write a book about.

12:00 p.m-1:00 p.m.-Lunch. 2 whole pizzas, a bucked of fried chicken, 1lb of green beans, and 2lbs of mashed potatoes. Wash it down with 3 gallons of water, and a 12pk of Pepsi.

1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.-Goes to the family farm, and pulls tractors through the mud with a rope and his bear hands. And we’re talking 6 ton big boys with engine sizes that range from 450 cubic inches/7.3 liters up to 700/11.5.

2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.-Wrestles 30 foot reticulated pythons (usually 3 at once) in a custom-made wrestling ring. Usually lets a snake wrap him up and begin constricting with an arm behind his back, just so they have a chance.

3:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.- Goes to the island of Kahoolawe, and runs the entire 45 square miles of the island.

8:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m.- Dinner, which is essentially breakfast and lunch combined, then bed time ’til the morning.

Yikes, Manti, yikes.