Sports Gospel- Fiesta bowl thoughts

[mark_chalifoux]

Sports Gospel- Fiesta Bowl thoughts

Mark Chalifoux

Jan 4^th, 2006



34-20. The eighth straight bowl loss for Notre Dame and they lost in a convincing fashion, giving up 617 total yards to the Buckeyes in the process. As a huge Notre Dame fan, not only did I have to see a great...
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[Bamanation]

There aren't many teams that could have beaten that Ohio State team. They probably would have beaten one of the many teams that deserved to be there more than Notre Dame.

On the Weis note. I'll never understand what "getting" Notre Dame is all about. Notre Dame likes winning football games and not losing football games. I could understand saying Weis won Superbowls and other NFL teams want him so we are granting him an extension to make sure he sticks around. That's a difference then Ty's situation. The fact that he loves ND is irrelevant.

[mark_chalifoux]

I wouldn't say it's irrelevant, in fact, it's probably more important than people think. "Getting it" when it comes to ND is huge when it comes to recruiting, because he can sell the university a lot better. When tradition is as important as it is with Notre Dame (and it is, just look at some of the recruits from the past few years), it's good to have someone who really understands all of that as a head coach. It's also good for him to be a classy individual, much like Holtz was. There have been a few stories this year that haven't gotten a great deal of media attention but that have shown that Weis is a character guy. Williingham was a great ambassador off the field, but he didn't have near Weis's success on it.

[KP]

The biggest difference of all in regards to Weis' extension is that he would be first in line, or very, very near it, for any NFL head coaching job. Willingham wasn't going to be.

"Getting ND" or a better on field record or whatever other reason is not bigger than not wanting to lose him to the NFL.

As far as the game...and call me a hater, I don't care...but ND didn't even belong in a BCS bowl game. Did they take advantage to the advantages the NCAA gives them? Sure. Why shouldn't they? The ONLY reasons why ND was in a BCS game is because 1. the media has made them synonymous with college football. Admittedly, ND's outstanding tradition has made that possible. No question. 2. Their fans travel. That's an excuse for a lot of college teams going to bowl games...whether or not the fans travel. ND travels as well or better than any other team.

Please don't say that ND's on field performance or their record said they deserved a BCS bowl. It simply isn't true. Their best game was a loss. For a team without a conference, a two loss team shouldn't be in a BCS game over a one loss team with a conference.

[mark_chalifoux]

I agree with much of what you said, but I don't think that OSU belonged anymore than Notre Dame did (at least before the game, obviously you can make that case afterwards, although Notre Dame was in the game until the very end. I could also counter that Oregon choked in their bowl game too).

They both had two losses and they both point to a loss as their biggest performance. Who was OSU's big win?- Michigan. Who was Notre Dame's big win?- Michigan.

[Bamanation]

OSU lost to Texas at home and Penn State in happy valley. Two BCS teams.

Notre Dame lost to USC at home and unranked Mich. St. AT HOME.


If any two loss team ever deserves to go to a BSC bowl it's this years OSU. If a one loss team ever deserved to be there it's Oregon. They only lost to USC!

Before the games Oregon belonged in that game. After the games, Oregon still belonged in that game.

[KP]

The same arguement was made about Cal last year after they got waxed in the Holiday Bowl.

Anyone who has ever played any sport competitively knows that your mindset completely changes when you've been let down like that. Is that an excuse? No. Not at all. Cal and Oregon should have played like the BCS teams they were trying to portray...and they didn't.

Their loss was no more a statement that they didn't belong in the BCS as much as a win by either would have been a statement that they did belong. All it does is fuel the arguement one way or the other.

BCS should be based on the combination of wins, losses and strength of schedule...with wins being the higher priority.

This is another reason for a playoff, IMO.

[mark_chalifoux]

Is there anyone here who honestly thinks Oregon is a better football team than either OSU or Notre Dame?

Also, Notre Dame stepped up bigtime against USC and that game more than lived up to the hype, OSU choked against Texas at home and fell apart against PSU. Michigan State was a different team when they played ND (their whole season changed in that kick before halftime against OSU) and even then it was an OT loss, Ohio State had a big letdown against PSU. You can't just look at the losses, you have to look at how they lost.

[KP]

In that respect, your opinion is kinda like going for a NASCAR championship...it doesn't matter if you win the race or not, as long as you put up a good, consistent showing.

This is football. You win or you lose. You play the schedule that's handed to you...and you win or you lose. It should be as simple as that.

Unfortunately, it's not.

Oh, well...

[Bamanation]

Oregon is not better than OSU (in my opinion). As far as Oregon v. ND - who knows. All I know is that Oregon is a one loss team and ND is a two loss team.

The whole point of the haters is that Notre Dame doesn't even have to worry about any comparisons. They get 9 wins and they are in. Not because they can make an arguement that they are better then other possible teams it's just that they are who they are.

As far as "choking." If OSU choked against Texas than ND choked against USC. Maybe the other team just made the plays to win.

College football will be a lot better in a few years when all these old ND lovers in the media are gone. ND hasn't done anything to warrent the respect they get in almost 20 years. We're gonna see the day when Notre Dame has to join a league, win some games, and actually earn their spot in the postseason. That will be a good thing.

[KP]

That's the one arguement against ND that I would love to use...but can't.

I would love to say that because they don't play in a conference, they can schedule whomever they choose...including a host of patsies.

But, they have a sort of conference because they always play Stanford, usc, Michigan and Navy (or Air Force). They used to always include Boston College...I think they should resurrect that game!

ND plays a pretty decent, tough schedule year in and year out. Because they do, I don't have much problem with them not being in a conference...at least right now.