For a month-and-a-half, college football analysts will ask what they think are the important questions leading up to this college football season. Examples are: How will (so and so) replace their entire offensive line? How will (fill in the blank) operate with a new starting quarterback? Can (said team) replace the 10 starters that were drafted, and still compete for the (whatever conference) title? At Notre Dame, the questions revolve around Jimmy Clausen and the offensive line.

But, there is only one real question that an Irish fan must answer. It is a question involving 2 choices, and you can only enjoy one of them at the expense of the other.

Would you rather win a national championship this year, or have a one night stand with:

Uber Hottie Megan Fox

Which would you choose? (And please, stop touching yourself at the computer right now!)

In the slow months of summer, it seems that some programs just can’t stay out of trouble. Florida is starting to look like the Cincinnati Bengals (in stripes . . . the jail kind); FSU is in trouble again and may vacate wins; USC is being (lightly) investigated for various infractions. In the past decade, other power programs have had some issues. Maurice Clarett comes to mind, as does Rhett Bomar.

ND, I’m happy to say, has been relatively clean. I say relatively because there have been a few issues. After all, Jimmy Clausen was caught on camera standing near a flip-cup table. Mike Golic and Will Yeatman were at a house party. Joseph Fauria apparently participated in the Zahm “bun run” (something I went out of my way to avoid, btw).

There is a clear difference between the events of the above two paragraphs. Namely, ND’s discipline issues are very, very weak. Next thing you know, someone will nearly get arrested by a glorified security guard for peeing outside, and will subsequently be suspended for a semester. I am happy to say that I support a team that doesn’t regularly go to jail or get expelled from school. However, all of this brings to mind a question: Does ND have the attitude that it takes to win?

What is attitude? It is the chip on the shoulder that makes players over-achieve. It’s the “nasty” that gets 2 yards on 4th and 1. I’ve started to wonder if ND has it in them. It seems almost as though the o-line says “excuse me” before allowing linebackers to get at the QB. Maybe the running backs go down at first contact because they don’t want to be a burden to defensive secondaries. I miss the attitude that I remember from my childhood. Remember 1988? Well that’s the last time ND won a national championship. That year was defined by a huge win over Miami, which was further defined by a pre-game fight in the tunnel. That team had attitude.

No, no, no, I don’t want to see mug shots of Irish players. I want them to graduate and show the proper respect to opponents. I just want to see some attitude. In the words of Trent from “Swingers:”

I don’t want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone’s really hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you know, the guy you’re not sure whether or not you like yet. You’re not sure where he’s coming from. Okay? You’re a bad man. You’re a bad man, Mikey. You’re a bad, bad man.

You don’t need Phil Collins to feel football “Comin’ In The Air Tonight.” It is here and everybody knows it. Winter workouts are done. 7 on 7 drills organized by the players are finishing up. Strength and speed gains have either been made, or Charlie needs to get rid of Ruben Mendoza, and break out the Wii Fit for the boys. Fall camp is just a few more weeks away. The Irish will be a year older, a year wiser, and hopefully, light years better on the football field. How will we know? It doesn’t matter what we will hear in August from player quotes or coach quotes. They will think they are getting better whether it is reality or not. (You can’t go into battle conceding defeat.) We won’t know until September, until we see what the Irish look like on the football field compared to what we saw last year. That being said, here are some things that I am hoping to see, and if we do, the Irish will be the team that we want them to be.

Jimmy Clausen becomes the complete quarterback. The tools to be a playa in the NFL are there. The arm strength. The accuracy. The release. The intelligence. However, Clausen has not yet proven to be a leader of men, and he has not played his best when the game was placed on his shoulders (crucial mistakes in the second half against North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse, and a nightmare against Boston College). Those were probably the 6 quarters or so worth of football that kept Clausen from being in the same breath as Tebow, McCoy, and Bradford last season. If the players trust Jimmy when their asses are on the line, and if he makes better decisions in close games, Clausen will be in the Heisman race, and Saturday will be a good day often this season.

Chasing Armando Allen is like playing with dynamite. Boom! An explosion, and said player is of to the races for a 50 yard scamper. The Irish haven’t has a truly explosive back since Reggie Brooks (both Denson and Walker were nice and slippery, good players, but didn’t strike fear), and Allen has long had the potential to be that guy. Him asserting himself as the team’s best running back will go a long way to making this Irish offense the most dangerous of the Weis era.

Rudolph and Ragone are one hell of a combo. Weis needs to run various formations and utilize various personnel groupings to make his offense potent. He can’t be predictable and trot out 3 receivers, a back, and a tight end all of the time. Versatile tight ends like Rudolph and Ragone can do a lot of different things to create match up problems, and help restore the mystique to this offense.

The rise of Kamara, Goodman, or Walker. When Weis does spread it out, another big play receiver besides Tate and Floyd will give defensive coordinators nightmares.

Kapron Lewis-Moore isn’t an urban legend. A defensive end with the athletic ability to play receiver. We hear about this kid’s physical gifts, and how he has impressed the coaches. Either he or Ethan Johnson could be the most dynamic Notre Dame defensive lineman since Justin Tuck. And, those two playing together would give the Irish their first fearsome defensive line since Holtz roamed the sideline.

Filer, Fleming, and Te’o all get on the field. A lot. Man consider Brian Smith the best linebacker the Irish have. He has made some big plays his first two years, and is a leader because of his maturity. But, the three mentioned are all better athletes, and there can never be enough athletes on the field. (Irish coaches seem to recruit guys that can play either in or out, so I just want the best athletes on the field, even if it requires some position switching.)

Walls and Blanton put it on lock-down. Against teams with athletic ability, Notre Dame cornerbacks have let opposing receivers run free often. The guys have the ability to put a stop to that. If they live up to it, I might actually be able to watch the Irish D without holding my breath the entire time (my brain thanks you).