Notre Dame hates Michigan
Posted by disappointmentzone on 26 November 2006
In case you somehow missed it, Notre Dame lost to USC last night, 44-24, in a game that was not even as close as the final score would indicate. Surprisingly, both teams had nearly the same offensive total in yards (ND: 402, UCS: 407), but there was absolutely nothing impressive about ND’s offense — other than a general inability to catch simple passes and convert fourth downs — and USC’s secondary and defensive lined played quite well. I’m not sure how ND ended up with 400 yards, actually. Of course, 60 of those yards came on Brady Quinn’s scamper, which was the longest run for ND this season. But still. 400 yards seems like a lot. That said, the 400 yards was more sound and fury than anything else. When ND needed to move the ball crucial yards — on fourth down and within the red zone — they may have well been playing an NFL team they looked so helpless. When the yards mattered ND struggled to move the ball. It’s no surprise they lost.
What does USC’s victory mean? A few things.
First, Notre Dame clearly hates Michigan. After the third week of the season it was clear that ND wasn’t going to make the BCS championship game. So what did they do? They ran off a nice string of victories over underwhelming opponents, wooed the AP and Coaches into voting them high in the rankings, reached a point where Michigan’s victory really started to look like a legitimate beat-down of a top-5 team, and then once they finally were in position to almost secure Michigan’s spot in the BCS championship game — all they had to do was beat USC and Michigan was probably in — they go out a lay an egg against USC. Of course, I can’t actually substantiate whether Notre Dame hates Michigan. Why? Because…
Second, Notre Dame had NO CHANCE against USC. Even if ND was in love with Michigan they were still going to be helpless against the Trojans. Notre Dame has been overrated for about…oh…let’s call it 24 months. Maybe this loss will finally put Notre Dame where they belong: out of the top ten. Now that the regular season is over here is a nice fact: Notre Dame played two top-25 teams this season and lost to both by a combined 46 points. And let’s follow up that fact with an Aflac Trivia Question: When was the last time ND beat a team that finished the season in the top 10? I’ll play the role of Bob Davie and say I’m not sure. Did Michigan finish the 2004 season in the top 10? If so, that’s the last time it happened. If not, we might be looking at 2002, if not earlier. I have no idea where ND will be ranked in the preseason next year, but until they beat someone there can be no more talk about Charlie Weis being a SuperCoach or ND being a powerhouse or anything of that nature. Unfortunately, this certainly won’t happen. Why? Because…
(Third) Notre Dame is going to face Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Just the rematch you wanted, right? Me, too. With USC and OSU on the path to Glendale, the Rose Bowl will grab Michigan to fulfill its Big Ten tie and then get an at-large pick to replace the departed Pac Ten team USC. Will the Rose Bowl pick, oh, Boise State? Probably not. Notre Dame is the sexy team and will most likely be the team Michigan plays on New Year’s Day. Start warming up the hype machine. All we’ll hear about for the next month is the tradition of each school’s football program and the quiet dignity of Brady Quinn and the perserverance of Michigan in light of Bo’s death. Sounds like fun. Shoot me now.
Fourth, lost in all the madness of the weekend is the tragic story of a very good Wisconsin team. With Arknasas, Notre Dame, and West Virginia losing this weekend, Wisconsin will certainly rise in the BCS standings. My guess is that they’ll jump from #8 to #6. Unfortunately, Wisconsin won’t play in a BCS game because only up to two teams from any one conference are allowed to be in the BCS each season. OSU and Michigan will represent the Big Ten. Wisconsin, despite being ranked so damn high, will probably play in the Capital One Bowl, which is still a nice bowl game, but my heart will sink a little bit when an inferior Notre Dame team plays in the BCS instead of Wisconsin.
Finally, from top to bottom the SEC is the beat conference in college football. But the Big Ten has the three best teams. There is no way I’d take Florida over Wisconsin, and after watching the Arkansas-LSU game, I’m not sure I’d take Arkansas either. OSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Florida is the order of the top five teams from the Big Ten and SEC. This should be noted. Now it is.
josh said
Agreed – I was pleased USC won because OSU would have clobbered Florida.
Today was Roger Brown’s last column. RIP.
disappointmentzone said
OSU-USC should be a good game. A lot of team speed.
Jim said
I had an assistant who did a beautiful imitation of FDR………. ” I hate warh, Eleanorh hates warh, and I hate Eleanorh !!!!!!!!” Obviously you, along with many others, hate ND.
“Notre Dame played two top 25 teams ……………..” A less biased observation might have noted the two losses came to two top 5 teams, who have been ranked as the nations 2nd best team, along the way. I believe they also played several other top 25 teams and won, but when you seem to hate that much, who could expect objectivity??
disappointmentzone said
Jim,
I don’t hate ND so much as I hate the fact that they are overrated.
My observation wasn’t biased. It’s factually accurate. ND played two teams that will finish the season ranked this year. They lost to both. Look at the litany of other teams that played tougher schedules, played better against top-ranked opponents, and were still ranked behind ND. How this makes sense is beyond me, which is why I think ND was overrated. Take Auburn, which is ranked behind ND despite beating the #4 and #5 ranked teams in the BCS.
If you can find me a team in this week’s AP or Coaches or BCS top 25 that ND played and beat I’ll eat crow. It’ll take you about two minutes. You won’t find one. But go ahead if you think my bias disables me from looking at a sheet of 25 teams.
BTW, “I believe” doesn’t mesh with objectivity. If you are going to hold me to that standard at least hold yourself to it as well.
Second, this is a blog. I am under no contract requiring me to be objective.
Third, thanks for reading.
College Football at Fumbled.Org » Ohio State and Michigan the Best! said
[...] Theres no doubt about it. Michigan and Ohio State have proven themselves to be the best two teams in the country. USC however, has shown they can ball. Should USC be “considered” to be in the National Championship Game at all? Michigan already lost; should, and will it be USC’s turn? [...]