You sure about that? One thing's for sure. They're definitely back hogging all the air-time on radio and television....just great. I must say, it was a good game, and the coach has done a great job, but my goodness...let's wait 'til we get further along into the season.
It was a great game, I was half asleep, and flipping through the channels. MSU caught that touchdown and went up by three. Then I closed my eyes for a bit, but listened to the game. Then I watched the drive, and he hit that one golden dome guy and the MSU defender lost his footing, and then hit his teammate and that one guy scored. I was like, HOLY ****. Football is good.
Wow...the Irish is really back! Barely beating Michigan and Michigan State as well as Purdue really established that, didn't it? The sad thing is that the Irish should be 7-0 by October 26; however, that is when their dreams of a NC will come crumbling down. I will go ahead and say right now that FSU wins by at least 3 touchdowns. However, watch ND win the rest of their games, go to a BCS bowl game and get taken out to the woodshed again like Oregon State did to them 2 seasons ago. So, yea, they are back, for sure. Don't believe the hype.
Unreal... people predict that it will be a "miracle" to win seven games with their schedule, and then when Notre Dame starts 4-0, the schedule becomes weak all of a sudden and it all becomes a fluke. I don't know where all the hate for Notre Dame came from... but if you think at all that this even resembles the teams from previous years you are wrong. This team believes it can win. They are undertalented at skill positions, but they know their system, have a strong defense, and they make the plays they have to make. Ryan Grant is also becoming a very good RB... I can't tell you how much better he's seeing the holes in the defense now. You know what, Manny... let's say your scenario occurs, and ND goes 11-2 with losses to FSU and in a BCS game. Do you know how ridiculous it is to say "don't believe the hype" to that type of season when they were predicted to have a losing record? Before the Michigan game, it was "now they're playing a good team, they'll get destroyed". Before the MSU game, it was "they've never had a real road test, they'll get destroyed". You want to be a doubter? Go right ahead. And Notre Dame will keep right on winning games by outcoaching and outexecuting more talented teams. (this sounds familiar... *giggle*) Tyrone Willingham is playing right now with less talent than Bob Davie ever had... and look at the results. This was a team that was expected by many to have four wins for the entire seasons, much less four wins in the first month. Are the Irish a national title contender this season? Probably not. But the fact that it's even being debated should tell you just how remarkable this team has played. Yeah, ND may lose one or two games this year... what point does that prove? They're playing with clearly lesser talent. Willingham has instilled a new attitude, new offense, and life into a program that was slipping over the past five years. Nothing ever happens overnight... but with the positive momentum ND has now, if you give Willingham a couple of years to get players to fit that system, they will again be a contender.
Cat, Um, what in the hell are you talking about? When have I ever talked about Notre Dame until today on this board? I might have said something once, but I honestly can't remember. However, I would hardly think that I have shown myself time and time again to be a "hata" of the Irish. For the record, I do feel that Tyrone Willingham is a good coach and that his coaching has helped Notre Dame immensely become a 4-0 team. But come on Cat, you are deluding yourself if you think that Notre Dame has beaten some great teams. Let's look at their opponents, shall we? 1) Maryland - clearly a one season wonder, they get pounded by FSU and have beaten up on 2 weaklings from the MAC in Akron and Eastern Michigan. They will be lucky to get a bowl bid this season. 2) Purdue - a team that is 2-2 and beat up on I-AA Illinois State and barely got by MAC team Western Michigan. Oh and they got beat by perennial ACC weakling Wake Forest. Another team that will be lucky to get into a bowl this season. 3) Michigan - a team that is heavily overrated . They barely beat Washington and that was only because the dumbass Huskies had 12 men on the field, and barely beat Utah, a decent team that might win 6 to 7 games. Yup, a team that will challenge for a NC. 4) Michigan State - a team that is notorious for underachieving. They lose to California and lose badly. Yet this same Cal juggernaut gets beat at home by that great force known as the Air Force Academy! So, no, I am not impressed and I won't be impressed with wins over Navy, Air Force, Stanford, and these other jabroni teams that the Irish play every season. How about playing some more games against teams like FSU instead of just playing 1 a year, huh? The Big Ten has been such a mediocre conference since 1997 that beating their top teams is really not saying much. However, it is classic and you can count on it like clockwork. Any time the Irish win some games, the media instantly have to proclaim the "Irish are back!" Bull****, the Irish will be back when they beat Florida State in Tallahassee . If they can do that, then yea, not only are they back but Willingham is the best coach in the nation. However beating teams from an overrated conference like the Big 10 is hardly awe-inspiring. Let's see them beat the top teams from the Big 12, SEC, and the PAC-10.
I'm not saying you've consistently hated them, but to say "don't believe the hype" when people are just trying to describe a four week run sounds a little ridiculous. Also, I'm skeptical of your evaluations on these teams. It sounds too much like the rest of the country... before every game, these teams were considered "really good" and too much for Notre Dame to handle. Then, after every game, they're suddenly overrated. Forgive me for not believing that. Michigan played Utah close... so what? BC played Miami close last year, and they won a national title. If Michigan could've made a chip shot field goal, the game against Washington is never that close in the first place. Also, all week I heard that MSU was better than they looked, and that their loss to Cal was just them looking ahead to Notre Dame, who they would beat. Wrong again. Maybe you're right, and the schedule isn't that hard. But, considering the hate for ND throughout the country, and the fact that these teams were only considered overrated after Notre Dame beat them, leads me to suspect that someone may be making excuses. When I say Notre Dame is back, I'm not necessarily saying that they will win the national championship. I'm just saying that the Notre Dame team that was a good team for years and years in college football has reappeared. Yeah, maybe they lack some talent, but they have proven time and time again that they have superior coaching, execution, and defense and that can keep them in any game. Considering Notre Dame's starts against these exact same teams in the last few years, and considering the talent level has decreased this year, you'd be a fool not to be impressed with what Willingham is doing. This is a good program that is clearly on the right track, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they went into Tallahassee and won.
Damn, are you serious?? I was about to say that you are a UT homer, but I think now that I need to change that to a ND homer. I think I would like to take you up on a bet about this game. The loser has to change their sig to whatever the winner decides.
Hehe... I don't do straight up bets when I can get better odds other places. Of course, since this is a friendly bet, I will probably be in, but I will let you know for sure the week before the game. A lot depends on Holiday's health, and if the offense is still showing improvement. If the game was next week though, and I knew Holiday would be healthy, I would take ND... but a lot can change over the course of a month. I'll get back to you on it then.
Dang I never watch college football, but this games last 3 minutes were about as good as it gets. The catch in the end zone was just freakin AWESOME!
I groaned when ND signed Willingham. He's probably one of the best 5 game coaches in college football. It was obvious while he was at Stanford. I thought he would succeed Spurrier, actually... but it was not to be. Living proof that racism is alive and well in college sports. There's no way that someone who did so much with so little at Stanford should have been shut out of a major job for that long.
A Miami fan taking up FSU's cause? I never thought I'd live to see the day! Seriously, Manny - how did Miami look vs. BC? I know they started off relatively slow, but judging by the final score it didn't end up that way. FSU played the 2nd and 3rd team nearly the entire 2nd half versus Duke, ever after only leading at the half 24-3, and still won 48-17. Can't draw much from there, but the defense was suspect early, though the passing game was much improved. I think FSU will beat Notre Dame, and it will be one heck of a game. ND should come into town undefeated; I hope FSU is playing at home undefeated at that point as well. It won't be 3 touchdowns, no, but it won't be a very close score either. I seriously hope I can get a ticket to that game, namely without having to camp out.
But you got to remember, mfclark, that Notre Dame is a bitter rival (even though they quit playing each other in 1990) of Miami's. In '85, Jimmy Johnson is accused of running up the score on Gerry Faust in what was his last game as ND coach. JJ's response was "We can't help it if our 3rd string team is better than their 1st string." Ouch. In '87, Miami shuts out ND 24-0, but Tim Brown (who would win the Heisman Trophy that year) would whine and complain after the game about the Miami players. And of course, there was that bull**** game of '88 in which Notre Dame won 31-30*. I will always place an asterik by that game because of this: Miami was losing 31-21 and were driving early in the 4th quarter. They had the ball on the ND 5 and were faced with a 4th and 4. They decided to go for it and not kick a field goal. Steve Walsh threw a little pass out in the flat to Cleveland Gary and he was tackled from behind around the 2. As he was falling down, Gary stretched forward and had the ball resting on the 1. His motion caused the ball to hit the ground first , and then the ball got away from him. Some ND players started to fall on the ball like it was a fumble, but I was sitting there at home saying we have a first and goal at the 1. But incredibly, the refs ruled it was ND football. I was livid and you could only imagine what Jimmy Johnson was doing. At any rate, this took away a sure touchdown from the Canes and allowed ND to eat up more clock. Miami would eventually get a field goal and a touchdown with under a minute left to play, but went for 2 and didn't get it. After the game was over, the head referee admitted that he blew that call . He said that he hadn't ruled it a fumble like many thought he did. He thought that Miami could not get a first down and had to score a touchdown. So, he ruled that it was Notre Dame's ball on turnover of downs, which was the incorrect call . Of course, Miami would not lose another game that season, but neither would the Irish. Thus, their NC, which was a bogus one. However, we got our revenge the next season, when we whipped their asses in the Orange Bowl, 24-10. Yea, they beat us in '90 in the last game of the series, but neither team was as good as they had been in that season. Whew..back to your other question about Miami and BC. Tom O'Brien is one of the best and underrated coaches out there. He just doesn't have the talent level that other places have, but he reminds me a lot of Willingham. He and his defensive coordinator had a good game plan, and Dorsey helped them out in the first half by trying to do too much (I think he wanted to show that last year's performance against them was a fluke). However, if they can establish the run with McGahee, it is damn near impossible to beat them, and that is what they did in the 2nd half. The turnovers obviously helped, but I feel that Miami has to play a lot better if they want to beat FSU, Tennessee (even though they looked terrible yesterday), and Virginia Tech. However, I am confident that they can do it.
Thanks for the history of UM-ND, Manny. I haven't really followed college football for that long - maybe 1993 or so - mainly due to not exactly living in a college football hotbed (NC mtns.) and being only about 7 years old once the decade changed. It's still strange, though, to see a Miami fan taking up FSU's side, considering the rivalry between the two schools. At least there's a common dislike of the Gators, stemming from different reasons! But no matter - in three weeks, FSU-Miami should be one heck of a football game. Yet, I don't think it's the ESPN Gameday game of the week; that title would go to OU-Texas. With a few other good matchups that Saturday (Tenn-Georgia, LSU-Florida) in the south, it should be one heck of a weekend and lead to one major poll shakeup.
FSU-Miami should be one heck of a football game. Yet, I don't think it's the ESPN Gameday game of the week; that title would go to OU-Texas. Wow. As it stands, that would 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in the same weekend!
Kirk Herbstreit said on the radio a few weeks back that Gameday will be in Dallas on October 12th, assuming Texas and OU win out between now and then.
And if there's encouraging results, why not a college football playoff system? Play the two winners the following week; as of now, the seeding is correct. Too bad it won't happen, though.
