I've written before that I don't get the whole Backup College thing with Boston College.  I wasn't a Notre Dame fan before going there and I grew up in western Pennsylvania, so I didn't know any Boston College fans, nor did I ever think I should compare BC's academic tradition to that of Notre Dame's.  Even going to school there, I never really got it.  More than that, the Backup College thing didn't make sense to me, only because I didn't apply to BC, nor did many other people I knew.  (Maybe everyone at Boston College did apply to Notre Dame and got rejected, but I had no idea.)

So I basically ignored Boston College, save for the week we played them in football.  But following our fellow SBNation site BC Interruption on Twitter is just a master class in how to have a tremendous inferiority complex.  Any time there is a chance to take a crack at Notre Dame - no matter how far they have to stretch - it happens.  When it was announced that the Big Ten was holding its title game in Indianapolis, BC Interruption pulled a Mr. Fantastic, saying that it was an FU to the Irish.  The explanation didn't really make sense (something about a BCS title-affecting game being played in Indiana), but I don't get too upset with individual Twitter comments.  We're all just throwing crap out there, hoping something  will stick and make people laugh.

But then there's this from earlier month, a piece entitled "Notre Dame vs. Boston College: A One-Sided Holy War"?  We're going to talk about what would drive someone to write this in a moment, but first, let's look at some specifics.  I'm going to excerpt chunks to provide context, then bold the stuff I'd like to address. 

But before we get to the fun stuff, let's just bask in the gloriousness of this rivalry. Here are two teams, both with strong Irish Catholic traditions, with fan bases who hate each other based on perceived academic superiority (let's be honest here, BC holds the title there, and I don't need stats to prove it). Each year, the two play each other, and for the most part the games become instant classics. Fans from both schools travel in droves when their team is on the road, and for BC students, the RV trip to South Bend has become a highlight of their college careers.

I have no idea what the first bolded part means.  I know you said you don't need the stats, but is there any sort of academic ranking where Notre Dame is below Boston College?  Let's quickly move onto football stuff, I just honestly didn't understand that first line.  For the second highlighted part, let's be clear: Notre Dame travels well to every road game.  Notre Dame is one of like two games a year Boston College fans care about.  Please don't confuse "Lots of Notre Dame fans showing up at a stadium not in South Bend" with "Notre Dame fans really care about this game specifically!". 

There is now a list of Notre Dame and Boston College's records starting in 2000.  I'll address this in the summary, but I don't think any Notre Dame fan would argue that we haven't had a great last decade.  I also don't think any Notre Dame fan would trade their program for Boston College's, despite the Eagles averaging over a win more per year over that stretch.  Onward.

Based strictly on a wins-loss analysis, BC would have the edge. Strength of schedule has to go to Boston College here. Scheduling USC and Michigan on a regular basis will definitely make your life harder, but how would you explain not regularly beating the service academies? ND aims to build a schedule that just throws the BCS bowls on the Irish's lap. That is all part of ND's "we are part of football's elite" mentality, which as you can see, they haven't been in more than a decade.

Oh Jesus, here we go.  Does strength of schedule have to go to Boston College?  I would just like to remind everyone that they play in the ACC, which isn't exactly the SEC West.  And Notre Dame aims to build a schedule that throws the BCS bowls into their lap?  I'm not even going to respond to this because Stewart Mandel already did earlier in the year.

Notre Dame is only a "contender" in Notre Dame's eyes. They haven't been relevant for over a decade now. We've heard a million stories how they're finally back and ready to make a splash. They can't win games even though their schedule is soft every single year. ENOUGH! PLEASE! NO MORE NOTRE DAME STUFF! I HATE NOTRE DAME! (Just like everyone else in the country outside of Indiana.)
-- Tyler, Eden Prairie, Minn.

Tyler: You seem to be suffering from two misconceptions. One, Notre Dame isn't particularly loved in the state of Indiana, either. They have far more fans in Manhattan than Muncie. But second, whether or not you believe the Irish will ever be "back," can we stop with the outdated soft schedule nonsense? Unlike most FBS teams, they don't play FCS opponents. They play USC and Michigan every year. Two of their other annual opponents, Stanford and Michigan State, won 12 and 11 games, respectively, last season. In fact, their 2010 opponents had the highest combined FBS winning percentage (.653) in the country during the regular season, and nine of their 12 foes this season played in a bowl game last year. (And ineligible USC would have made for 10).

Also, Air Force and Navy are pretty good!  I'm not sure if you noticed, but they're regularly playing in bowl games.  Navy almost won at Ohio State in 2009.  Air Force beat Georgia  Tech in a bowl game last postseason.  I mean, I know you dominated Navy by one point when you played them in 2006, but the service academies (save Army) are not necessarily easy wins!

The best part about this is one of the BC Interruption writers actually does the work in calculating the SOS the last ten years.  The average?  Notre Dame's is 19.9, Boston College's is 46.4.  How is that clearly in favor of Boston College you ask?  The apparent answer.

But shouldn't that always be the case? Seems like you are comparing apples to oranges when you consider Notre Dame gets to hand-pick the 12 teams it faces each year (and still schedules the likes of Nevada, Tulsa, Western Michigan and San Diego State). BC gets to select just 3-4 opponents each year and doesn't have a choice in playing Duke, Wake Forest, Rutgers, UConn, etc., which weighs down SOS.

You can't see me right now, but I am kneading my forehead like a professional baker.  That is one of the most amazing attempts at twisting logic you will ever find: Notre Dame's strength of schedule is twenty spots better than Boston College's because Notre Dame gets to pick easier teams to play.  Try to digest that before you move on.

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Many of you will find these points redundant after a weekend of thinking, reading and talking about this issue, but bear with me.

1)      The first misconception that needs to be addressed is that Michael Floyd's fate for this upcoming football season is now decided.  ResLife simply stated that he was not suspended for the fall semester, a punishment in line with what du Lac says should be the result for a DUI offense and the same one given to Will Yeatman (before his second offense while on academic probation).  Floyd must still deal with all legal proceedings, and after that, meet all of the goals set up by Brian Kelly.  Not getting kicked out for the semester was a great first step, but anyone who assumes that Floyd will automatically be suited up for South Florida is mistaken.

2)      I think there is a key difference between a relaxation of standards and simply reevaluating how you want to deal with student offenses.  Res Life under Bill Kirk was an abomination, a council with no regards for handing out fair punishments or treating students like people.  Starting with the Mike Ragone weed possession last summer (and Kirk being replaced), Res Life has been a kinder, gentler and more sane place.  And again, if you go to the handbook (page 114) and look at what a student is supposed to get for their first DUI offense, Floyd's punishment isn't lax at all: It's exactly what you're supposed to receive.

3)      I don't like the lumping of Floyd's two prior alcohol-related incidents, both underage drinking, in with a DUI.  Driving under the influence is an incredibly dangerous, stupid and potentially deadly thing.  Underage drinking is roughly the opposite of that, an offense that many of us have committed literally hundreds of times before turning out no worse for wear.  If you want to say it's an established pattern of behavior for Floyd, I'm not sure I buy that, either, as it seems like he was a college student who drank (for shame!) and got caught, then did something incredibly stupid that he needs punished for (DUI).  I'm sure by the time this reaches rival message boards, this will be Floyd's third DUI, which is just another reason to ignore them because...

4)      However you feel Michael Floyd should be punished, I hope you are not factoring in what other people will think of Notre Dame when you make that assessment.  The goal posts will always be moving.  If you think that suspending Floyd for the whole season in an attempt to be some shining city on a hill will work, the response across rival fan bases will be as follows: "Oh, of course they'll suspend Floyd, but it's only to make up for the fact that they let rapists on their team and have a racist, alcoholic coach who has never shown remorse for killing a student manager.  I used to respect Notre Dame, but no longer."  Never mind that there are at least a half dozen lies in statements, that's what is going to be written.  It's annoying, but it is what it is.  Screw everyone else.  As long as you feel like Notre Dame is doing the right thing for Notre Dame and the Irish family, who cares what anyone else thinks.  Haters gonna hate.

5)      The South Bend Tribune's Tom Noies could not stop referencing Kyle McAlarney over the last few days, as if Floyd should have been kicked out of school because of a terrible decision made by Kirk's Res Life in 2007.  This seems unnecessary, because I thought we all were in agreement that K-Mac got totally and completely screwed over, and that he showed a lot more class than most of us would have by coming back to the school that kicked him to the curb for a very minor offense.  Brian Hamilton actually got in touch with K-Mac, who was very supportive of Floyd. 

6)      No one from Res Life is going to come out and say "Hey former students who got screwed over by the people who used to run things here: We're really sorry.  They were dicks and we're going to handle things in a much fairer way now.  You got raw deals and we'd like to publicly apologize for them."  Sorry, administration changes don't usually work like that.

7)      I think Floyd needs a one-game suspension.  I don't buy that him missing spring practice is a big deal, and would certainly scoff if Lane Kiffin tried to sell me that as a fair punishment for an equal crime in Troy.  But one game, plus the spring practice, the loss of captaincy, the public shaming, the counseling programs, the community service, loss of license, a semester of probation and the court fees?  That seems more than fair to me, and it would be equal to or greater than the penalties assessed by most schools over the last few years.   

8)      I tweeted this over the weekend, but I really liked Eric Hansen's story on this.  Definitely worth reading.

9)      There is little doubt in my mind that if Floyd looks the wrong way at a police horse between now and the end of next season, he will be gone.  I'm sure he understands this, and that would be the right thing to do considering the very fine line he is hanging by.  I also have little doubt that as long as Floyd is the model citizen a whole bunch of people are expecting him to be, he'll be back in an Irish uniform dominating midget defensive backs this fall.  This is all on him, but he is in an ideal support system to get him through these next few months without misstep.

Brandon Hogan, WVU starting cornerback, in-season: One game

Kevin Grady, UM running back, July: One game

Justin Blackmon, OK State star receiver, in-season: One game

Doug Worthington, Ohio State DT, July: Zero games

Carlos Dunlap, Florida DE, in-season: One game

Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska DT, in-season: One game, but could conceivably be more because it was this December between the Big XII title game and bowl game

Chris Omigie, Kansas WR, February: No punishment announced yet that I can find

Melvin Harris, Ole Miss WR, In-season: One game, but could be more because it was prior to the final game of the season

Kevin Garrett, Oregon LB, off-season: Kicked off team.  Difficult to find a lot of info on what went down here.

I'm sure I missed a bunch more, so please add in the comments.  I would also note that UGA has a particularly strict policy, suspending athletes for one tenth of their team's games for alcohol-related offenses.

I'm not sure I buy the argument that Floyd is missing out on a whole lot during the spring practice - I suppose there could be some refinement of route-running, but let's be serious - so I think suspending him for the South Florida game is a fair punishment.  Combining a one game suspension with community service, rehab programs and checking anything else off of Brian Kelly's list to prove he's on the right track is a punishment that is not over-the-top but also prevents anyone from legitimately saying that Notre Dame took it easy on him because he's a star athlete.

Updated with more examples:

Alex Boone, Ohio State starting OT, April: Zero games (While underage.  Tressel is amazing.)

Darryl Stonum, Michigan WR, in-season: One game

Niles Paul, Nebraska WR, April: Zero games (Well, actually he was suspended for the spring game.  And he was underage.)

Matt Roark, Kentucky WR, in-season: One game

Britton Colquitt, Tennessee P, February: Fives games and loss of scholarship.  (Colquitt left the scene of an accident and had been suspended for all kinds of alcohol-related offenses earlier in his career.)

Brandon Wood, Georgia DT, in-season: One game

Zach Luckett, Virginia Tech WR, August: Season (Was his second DUI arrest in six months.)

Frankie Hammond, Jr., Florida WR – June ’10: two games, lost scholarship (Thanks to Team Speed Kills)

Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd was arrested for drunk driving last month, leaving the star's senior season in doubt.  Brian Kelly stripped him of his captain's position and suspended him indefinitely from football activities, but it seems very likely that the coach would want him back should he meet Kelly's standards for rehabilitation.  The big wild card was going to be ResLife, an organization which cannot be described without the use of the word draconian.  Floyd met with ResLife today, and all of the rumblings are very, very positive: Floyd will probably be allowed to return for the fall semester.  Obviously Kelly could conceivably keep Floyd out for the entire season, but that seems unlikely unless Floyd has another misstep.

All sorts of credit should go to Keith Arnold over at NBC.com, who has been on top of this from the go.  This will be updated as we get something official (I'm assuming something from Kelly or Brian Hardin), but for now, light your candles, take your vitamins and say your prayers.  (Oh, and be ready to ignore the David Haugh column blabbing about Notre Dame selling out its values.)  

UPDATES: Rivals and ISD are saying the same thing.  Community service, further suspension would be Kelly's choice.  

In just-announced (and awesome) news, kickoff for the Irish and Trojans' annual battle will be at 7:30pm, making it the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium in 21 years (Michigan in 1990 was the last).  This has been rumored for a few weeks and is absolutely amazing news.  However, it does raise a whole lot of questions, including but not limited to:

• Will the National Guard be called in to support the excise police and NDSP?
• Will this be a tougher ticket than USC in 2005?
• Should I already have a lawyer on retainer?
• Will there be group rates on bail that weekend?
• How are certain segments of the fan base going to complain about this?
• Could I possibly be more excited?

The entire home/off-site kickoff schedule was released today as well, and it as follows (all times Eastern):

South Florida: 3:30pm

Michigan State: 3:30pm

Air Force: 3:30pm

Southern Cal: 7:30pm

Navy: 3:30pm

Maryland (in DC): 7:30pm

Boston College: 4:00pm

With spring camp opening, Brian Kelly had a presser yesterday where he touched on a variety of issues.  This is in addition to his statement Monday afternoon where he announced that Michael Floyd would be suspended indefinitely from all football-related activities until his issues, both legally and personally, were resolved.  Some points of interest from yesterday, with all notes taken from this transcript:

On the QB derby: Dayne Crist will be limited, similar to the plan used for him last year when he was coming off the ACL injury.  He'll do drill work, but probably will see little live action.  The two candidates without starting experience, Everett Golson and Andrew Hendrix, will not be wearing a red jersey all of the time.  Kelly wants them involved in the running game, and that means getting hit. 

On injuries: Sean Cwynar will miss all of spring camp and Manti Te'o will miss a majority of it as both recover from surgery.  Doesn't seem like either's recovery time will be anything that bleeds into September.

On position changes: Making official stuff we knew a lot earlier, Bennett Jackson is now at cornerback, Austin Collinsworth is at safety and Luke Massa will be at wide receiver.  Early enrollee Brad Carrico will slide from defense line to offensive line, although I imagine he is almost a guarantee to get red-shirted this year.

On filling the potential Michael Floyd void: Kelly is pretty much looking at all comers, including the experienced (John Goodman), the inexperienced (Daniel Smith) and the enigmas (Deion Walker).  Kelly singled out Walker, saying that the highly-touted wide receiver who has seen little time on the field was a changed man and the head coach expected big things from him.  Although the idea of moving Theo Riddick to running back was flirted with following the Sun Bowl, the junior wide out will remain at that position.

On replacing Armando Allen and Robert Hughes: Kelly talked extensively about Jonas Gray and how the senior tailback will be leaned on heavily in the coming season.  With Riddick staying at wide receiver and only the seemingly non-workhorse (I'm assuming due to size here) Cierre Wood in front of him on the depth chart, Gray will have plenty of opportunities.  He had fumble trouble early in his career and didn't get many touches last season (although he ripped off a huge run against Utah), but Gray was a four-star recruit who should be able to produce.

On the new kids: I will just quote Kelly on Aaron Lynch and Ishaq Williams, because it makes me very happy:

Well, if you just walked into the weight room you go, boy, that's what they look like.

Talking about Aaron Lynch, physically, he's as developed as some of our juniors and seniors. Physically he looks great. But as we all know, you have to play the game more than just physically, it's the mental end of things that he's going to have to pick, the discipline, how to practice the right way. There's a big learning curve.

But I will tell you this: Having him here now, really helps our chances of him being a key contributor for us in the fall. Same thing with Ishaq. Physically a gifted young man, again, I think the transition is a whole lot easier for him to be a guy that, again, whether it's situational or not, really improves our depth and our competitiveness on the defensive side of the ball.

The depth in the defensive front seven is ridiculous.

On the linebackers: Kelly threw a lot of names out for the playing time vacated by Kerry Neal and Brian Smith.  Justin Utupo, Kendall Moore, Anthony McDonald and David Posluszny were all mentioned at inside linebacker, in addition to incumbent Carlo Calabrese.  On the outside, Prince Shembo, Danny Spond and Dan Fox were brought up, although I imagine Steve Filer will also get a long look there.  Ishaq Williams will also likely be playing the rush linebacker position when he starts seeing the field.

As far as conditioning and getting ready to battle in the trenches, Longo Beach as been very effective.  Everyone's updated numbers can be found here, but a few that stand out:

Louis Nix: 6'3 340
Ethan Johnson: 6'4 300
Kap Lewis-Moore: 6'4 295
Kona Schwenke: 6'4 285
Tate Nichols: 6'8 320

Some very smart people point to Tomahawk Nation's look at front seven size when evaluating the potential of a defense to be elite.  Their magic number is 1780, and if you add up Johnson, Nix, KLM, Te'o, Darius Fleming, Carlo and Shembo, their weights of today equal over 1900 pounds.  They're some large gentlemen, and should their skill level be equivalent to their size and pedigree, the Irish defense could be rather dominant up front this year.

So with that said, what do all of you want to see out of spring practice this year?  Is there anything to take from spring practice, or is it just a chance for the players to get a few more reps while giving desperate college football fans something to write about during the offseason? 

And the hits keep coming, folks.  From WNDU:

Just days before spring practice is set to begin, Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd is arrested for driving under the influence.

Sgt. William Redman with the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department says Floyd was arrested on campus by Notre Dame Security Police around 4 a.m Sunday. He posted a $500 bond and was released about seven hours later. Floyd is scheduled to appear in court April 2 for the charge.

The severity of Floyd's punishment will obviously have a huge, huge impact on the upcoming season, and it is anyone's guess as to what that likely suspension will be.  Rashon Powers-Neal, starting fullback on the 2005 team, was suspended for the rest of the season after he was picked up for a DUI in early October of that year.  The administration has been slightly less draconian in recent years, going from kicking people out of school (Kyle McAlarney) for weed possession to no serious punishment for the same crime (Mike Ragone).  This is more severe than that, and a dumb decision has put Floyd's future in an Irish uniform in jeopardy.  I suppose if there is a silver lining to this - and it's not really silver, more like...tarnished copper - it's that this happened so far before the South Florida game that the coaching staff can be well-prepared for life in a world without a guardian angel split out at wide receiver.

Well, there have been better twelve hour periods to be a Notre Dame fan.  I'm assuming the next text or e-mail I get will have something to do with a meteor shattering the golden dome or Brian Kelly getting kidnapped from his home.  Not the best way to start a Monday.

Brian Kelly has his first commit of the 2012 recruiting cycle, getting Fresno, CA, defensive back Tee Shepard on board the Irish train.  Shepard is the type of big, rangy player that Kelly has been stocking the defense with, and there's some buzz that he may be the best corner out of this year's class.  His offer list certainly supports that, as some of the other schools competing for his services include Alabama, Auburn, Miami and Southern Cal.  Shepard hasn't visited campus yet, which makes this get both more impressive and slightly worrisome in that there's the slim chance he could hate South Bend.  (But come on, who could hate northern Indiana, am I right?)  His initial visit will be Blue-Gold Weekend with his father.

Shepard sounds like a guy who is ready to don the blue and gold, despite never stepping foot in the 574:

"They knew I was going to Notre Dame but thought I would go through the process a little longer," Shepard said. "For me, it came down to knowing what I wanted to do and just not wanting to waste anyone's time. The second they offered me, I knew I would be going to Notre Dame so there was no need to drag this out.

"Notre Dame had everything I was looking for. I love the tradition, the new coaching staff and what the school is all about. It's a privilege to say you attend Notre Dame and I know the program has been down for a few years but they're turning the corner and I'm excited to be a part of making them the top program in the country once again."

Of course, this post comes with the caveat that absolutely nothing is official until next February, but I'd rather have a guy as talented as Shepard in the fold rather than outside of it to start the class.  Plus, if someone does get Shepard to flip, Bob Diaco has a Crown Vic loaded with Red Bull, hair pomade and shoe polish ready to go on a moment's notice.