[david murray]

Ohio State has the top spot this morning in the first Associated Press top 25 poll, followed by the Irish. Who thinks this should be the other way around?

[Lefty Noob]

These two teams are definitely 1-2 in my book; in terms of order, it could go either way. Both have playmakers on offense -- Quinn and Samardzija for the Fighting Irish and Smith and Ginn for the Buckeyes. I know you Notre Dame fans may take issue to your team being labeled second-best entering the season by the AP, and certainly a case can be made for the Irish at #1.

So make the case. Why do you think your favorite team is better than Ohio State?

[david murray]

You're right Lefty, it is a close call. Okay, I'll make a case for Notre Dame. Both OSU and the Irish have great, high powered offenses. both have great coaches. The question mark for both teams has got to be defense. The Buckeyes lost A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and five other starters I think. They'll be playing a lot of new faces, and get a big earlly test against Texas. Notre Dame lost two starting linebackers, but they return a lot of experience on the defensive line, and four senior starters in the defensive backfield. There was a little blurb this morning about Notre Dame's lack of team speed, but I think Charlie Weis and Rick Minter are going to come up with a way to utilize the experience and minimize the exposure and risk of big plays. They've shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to make ND better on D already by moving Travis Thomas to LB. Maybe they'll move some more players around--what about moving Tom Z. to linebacker and starting one of the prized freshman at safety? I'll take the experienced guys, even if they are a bit slow, over the newcomers at OSU and give ND a slight edge with an improved D--what do you think?

[bautch24]

We could also put Bruton in and move Zibby to Lb.

[david murray]

Tell us about Bruton--can he add speed? I love the idea of moving Zibby to linebacker, or making him a rover or a monsterman--at least on paper. The problem is he is so good for the Irish where he is.

[bautch24]

Bruton 6'2, im not sure on the weight, just as fast if not faster than zibby. Not as strong, but more of a cover guy than a run stopper. I really dont know much about him besides what i read on other boards. He is supose to he very athletic, and the coaches love him.

[david murray]

Bruton sounds like he is going to be a big asset. How about the freshman Raeshon McNeil? He is being mentioned. Tell us about. Is he going to get in there this year, or maybe even crack the solid senior starting lineup in the defensive backfield?

[bautch24]

Walls and McNeil should get plenty of playing time, and I think that 1 of them may be starting by the end of the year.