The Continued Quest for Respect
UHND.com - Ken Britton
December 7, 2000
Amid public outrage and sportswriters whining, Notre Dame was selected to the Tostitos’ Fiesta Bowl, one of the three at large bids, and a rather large payoff that they do not have to share with any conference.
Of course, ND deserved none of this. They say they are a crummy team. They say they do not have a lot of speed. They say their schedule was very weak. They say they almost lost to Air Force. They say they barely beat Stanford and Purdue. They say they only beat BC by twelve. They…
I wish they would shut up already. Most of them have not watched more than twenty seconds of Irish football, because if they have they would know that the Irish do have speed. They would know that this team won its final seven games with a true freshman at quarterback. They would know that Bob Davie is more concerned with winning games than running up the score, hence why the games against Stanford, West Virginia, and BC looked so close (though it nearly cost the Irish the game in Morgantown).
He problem is, ND is no longer looked upon with respect. If the Irish win it’s always luck, or the
other team, or…
Cause and effect. Not having a bowl win since ’94 has created this perception. Hence why ND always drops so far in the polls after a loss. And hence why they were picked by many experts to lose to USC, even after winning six in a row. And it’s not like USC was the only game with such pre-Saturday predictions. The Irish were supposed to get “crushed” by Nebraska, they were supposed to have a letdown and lose to Purdue. A win at Morgantown would be tough…
Now to the point of the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon State is 10-1, and Dennis Erickson, who despite nearly killing Miami by leaving Butch Davis to clean up after his ‘infractions now, pay later’ mess (despite popular belief, most of the infractions that put Miami on probation occurred under Erickson, not JJ), has done an incredible job with the Beavers this season. They play better as a team than maybe anybody else. They have been the laughing stock of much of college football for nearly thirty years. So I send my congratulations to all of their coaches and players who have achieved what was thought to be impossible.
Never-the-less, ND is a team that has lost two games, one in overtime, and one in the last minute on a fourth-and-ten. Anybody who has seen them knows that they are pretty good. And yet they are picked to lose. They are 9-2. If Nebraska or KSU were playing, would they come in underdogs against OSU? Would the Sugar Bowl let it be leaked out that they did not have the firepower to keep up with Florida? (This is especially insulting to anybody that has seen Florida this year…)
Though college football may be so bereft of competent analysts that I should not be surprised, I still am. Moronic statements like “On the field, the matchup favors Oregon State. Notre Dame will have a tough time matching up with the spread offense and OSU receivers.” Does he not have access to game tape of the Purdue game? Does he really think that OSU is that much better of a team that the only way they should lose is to avoid getting “spooked?”
Week after week, ND fans have a great deal of trouble dealing with the likes of Lee Corso (this guy used to coach?) Beano Cook (still waiting for Ron Powlus to win a heisman), and Kirk something or other, not to mention the NBC announcers who somehow manage to force myself and others to press the mute button. One must wonder, judging by the fact that USC, at 5-6, was favored over us, whether the Irish are 9-2 or 2-9.
I guess the bottom line to fix this problem is to simply
keep winning. If the offensive line plays as
well on New Years Day as it had during the final stretch, it is entirely possible to win
big. Of course, everybody knows that it is
improbable unless OSU somehow gets “spooked.”
Davie gets an extension
A highly surprising move was made by Kevin White on
Tuesday, giving Bob Davie a two year extension on his contract.
While Davie has certainly done a good job this season of guiding this team to the Fiesta Bowl, and the contract afford stability which is key come time to pitch potential recruits, one must wonder if Kevin White has paid any attention to what has happened at Alabama this year.
After going 10-2 to squelch rumors that he would be fired, including a BCS bowl victory (all this sound familiar), Crimson Tide coach Mike Dubose forgot to recruit a tailback to replace Shaun Alexander, which was the minor sin compared to forgetting to coach the rest of the team. ‘Bama went 3-8, and now the University had to pay a substantial buyout to get it hands clean. The result of all this has been disastrous for recruiting, and Alabama had to settle for its third choice for a head coach.
I honestly believe that will not happen with Bob Davie
next season, but I also believed that the Irish could not win six games this year.
I do know that Davie had three years remaining on his
deal, and there was little reason why an extension could not have been postponed until
next December. On the other hand,
White’s reputation does speak for itself.
Questions, Comments, Want to know how you can send
ESPN your resume for College Gameday (judging by the message board, you are all more
qualified then who they have…)? Klb1@somnus.host4u.net