A few things as we slowly work our way towards spring ball...

* This was rumored a few weeks ago, but the 2011 Maryland vs. Notre Dame game in DC is official.  It will take place at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, home of the Washington Redskins on November 12.  When you want to talk about the "barnstorming" tactics of neutral site games, this is the sort of thing that will get Irish fans excited.  The Terps have struggled the last couple years, but between their massive fan base in the area and the large amount of Irish alums up and down the eastern seaboard, this is going to be a tough ticket.

* Theo Riddick is moving over to wide receiver, hopefully immediately becoming Golden Tate 2.0.  Quoting the coach:

"We have to get more touches for the three dynamic players at running back," Kelly said. "We got three really dynamic players that need to get on the field.

"So if you assume that the other guy we have to find room for is Cierre Wood, then if you have Cierre and Theo, somebody's not going to get a chance to get touches. So somebody had to go to wide receiver. And Theo has the best overall skills. So he's going to get a chance to compete for that inside slot receiver (spot) right away."

Kelly basically envisions Riddick, who rushed for 167 yards and 5.5 yards per carry as a freshman, as a clone of Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers, a multifaceted performer that can help in numerous ways.

Works for me.  Riddick showed some nice flashes at tailback last year, so getting the ball into his hands as much as possible is a good thing.  It's an even better thing if you're keeping Armando Allen's carries up and finally getting Cierre Wood some burn.

* Jack Swarbrick sat down with the media today in New York City.  The topic?  Notre Dame's place in the potentially evolving landscape of conference alignments, especially in regards to football independence.  From Pete Thamel at the Times:

"I think seismic is a possibility," he said. "I don’t know where the spectrum falls out. You have such an interesting media environment here. It’s having such an impact on people. You have two conferences who have separated themselves economically. And you have all the other conferences lined up in successive years for broadcast negotiations. That’s a tough situation for everyone in that position. The bar has been set so high, and the media market is so tepid, that it creates tension."

He added: "I’ve been in and around this business for 29 years now. This is as unstable as I’ve seen it."

Not great news that we'll look at it more in-depth once the hoops season settles down.  I'm sure the administration is very much aware that a large majority of Notre Dame alums cherish the football independence and will hopefully be making every move possible to maintain.  Keep working the phones, Jack.  I don't think you want to deal with the masses if Notre Dame football finds itself as part of the Big Ten or Big East.  If you're interested, Sports Illustrated has another look at today's presser.