Irish Chicken is on the menu Saturday nig🦩ht in Ann Arbor.
Here’s the rec🅰🌠ipe: Add five ACC games. Throw in a dash of USC, add a spice of Purdue, found only in Indiana. Bring to a boil and skim off any Maize and Blue.
There you have it — Irish Chicken.
“We have unbelievable rivalry games at Michigan,” Michigan coach Brady Hoke said last spring. “The Notre Dame, that rivalry, which they’re chickening out of … they’re still going to play Michigan State, they’ll play P▨urdue, they don’t want to play Michig💃an.”
Saturday nigh♊t’s Michigan-Notre Dame game (8 p.m., ESPN), which ends its series in 2014, takes on an SEC flavor of trash talki🅠ng and bruised feelings.
When the Irish opted to join the Atlantic Coast Conference as a full member for all sports except football, it had to agree to play five football games against ACC teams in order to retain 𝓡its TV independence.
Someone🃏 had to go and the Irish decided that someone was Michigan.
Since then, the rhetoric has steadily increased.
Notre Dame’🦄s monster defensive tackle Louis Nix III responded to Hoke in the offseason on Twitter.
“Chickened out? #MeatChicken will💞 taste deliciou𝐆s Sept 7th. #GoIrish.”
Fast forward to this w🎉eek. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly: “I really haven’t seen it as one of those historic, traditional Notre Dame rivalries,” he said Monday. “I’ve seen it as just one of those great football games that Notre Dame has played.’’
The two Midwest powers have faced each♏ other 40 times, and the series, which began in 1887, has been discontinued four times. The teams have played 29 of the last 35 seasons since 1987.
Kelly tried to defuse෴ the emotion on Tuesday when he acknowledged it as a great and historic riva🐲lry. Just not great and historic enough to continue.
Hoke said Tꦅuesday he wants th🌠e series to continue. He won’t get his way. But Michigan can get the last word at the Big House.
The Wolverineꦛs, the home team, are giving 3.5. The last four games have been decided by seven or fewer, three times by four points.
Michigan 21-17.
South Carolina (+3) over GEORGIA:
Bottom line, it’s really a pick’em game so we will take the team (South Carolina) getting three point🌄s. Jadeveon Clowney makes two monster plays for Gamecocks.
Wake Forest (+3) over BC:
Demon Deacons played a week ago Thursday which giv🐈es underrated coach Jim Grobe too🐎 much time to prepare.
MICHIGAN ST. (-23.5) over S. Florida:
Can’t even consider picking t⭕he Bulls after they lost at home to FCS McNeese State, 53-21.
MIAMI (+3) over Florida:
Until Jeff Driskel proves he can have a big game against elite competition, the Gators can’t be considered an SEC championship-le🦩vel team. RB Duke Johnson is the real deal for Miami.
ILLINOIS (+7.5) over Cincinnati:
The Bearcats are coming off an impressive 42-7 win ಞover Purdue. But QB Muchie Legaux makes us nervous. He threw 🌊two picks in that game and has thrown 15 in his career.
BALL ST. (-7.5) over Army:
The Black Knights have to prove they can stop a team with a balanced offense, whic🌠h Ball State has.
OHIO ST. (-28) over San Diego St.:
When’s the Michigan game?
Oregon (-22) over VIRGINIA:
Our only concern is that the Ducks have to travel cross country for a 3:30 p.m. ༺Eastern kickoff. Don’t be surprised by a slow Oregon start but by the second half, the Ducks bust it open.
NORTHWESTERN (-12) over Syracuse:
Wait until the 11th hour before making this play. Northwestern QB Kain Colter suffered a concussionജ in last week’s win at Cal. He is day-to-day and he said he plans toꦆ play. If not, consider the Orange and the points.
OKLAHOMA (-20.5) over W. Virginia:
Until the Mountaineers grasp the concept of defen🍸se, we can’t pick em.
Texas (-7) over BYU:
The🃏 Cougars don’t have the personne𓆏l that Texas does.
Wash. St. (+15) over USC:
The Cougars gave Aubu🔜rn fits on the road last week. The Trojans underachievཧed in a win at Hawaii.
Arizona (-10.5) over UNLV:
Arizona ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚgets RB Ka’Deem Carey back from his one-game suspension𒁏.
STANFORD (-26.5) over San Jose St.:
The Post’s pick to win it🐼 all opens with a devastating display of powe🌳r and execution.
BEST BETS:
Stanford, Northwestern, Oklahoma
LAST WEEK:
7-8 overall, 1-2 best bets