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The Sergeant's Office: Notre Dame Football
As another college football season winds down, the age old debate (since at least the mid 1990's) begins again. What bowl game will Notre Dame back it's way into and how many teams who are more deserving are going to get the shaft for the Catholics?
Not that I'm holding myself out as an expert, (as I sit here writing, drinking my Natural Light and eating jerky), but when is enough going to be enough?
Notre Dame has been hammered by every decent team they've ran into the last few years. This is nothing either new or unexpected.
How far have the Irish fallen? Notre Dame fans EXPECT to lose to USC. The only question to the average Irish fan is "how much"?
Program Prestige? Remember when you faced Notre Dame, were not a "cupcake" and actually had to worry about winning? Take the "all stars" of Notre Dame the last five years and line them up against a similar paring from USC, Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, LSU, and Georgia. Notre Dame would not stay within 30 points of any of them. I'd wager for all star teams from Michigan, Florida State, Oregon, Utah, and Boise State being able to do almost the same. The talent level at Notre Dame seems to take a nose dive year after year, sometimes seemingly game after game. Has been this way for quite some time.
Remember all those National Championships? The height of the Holtz glory days? Well, the glory days are certainly gone in South Bend. Almost yearly, Notre Dame fans are looking for a savior, someone to resurrect the championships of yester year.
Enter Charlie Weis, a guy who claimed he could "out scheme" everyone. A guy with an outstanding football mind, from a winning factory of professional football. He looked okay to start, going 19-6 (still a joke, but not a knee slapper). Par for the Golden course though, the bottom has totally fallen out on the Irish since that "warm" start.
This year? Notre Dame WILL finish up at 6-6, probably headed to El Paso for the Sun Bowl, and, in true Irish fashion, will take away a bowl spot from another 6-6 team who likely is much more deserving, more talented, and minus USC probably has played a better schedule. Who?
A team like San Jose St, who at one time was leading the WAC, who have come back from the ashes, who have done it all right, will be home for Christmas while the Catholics get defroked and exposed yet again. Notre Dame bowl games are almost as bad as Detroit Thanksgiving day games. But don't think for one second your not going to have to keep watching it.
Can it be fixed? Can the Notre Dame ship ever be righted? No, I don't think it can.
Could Notre Dame be a consistent 8 game winner? Yes it most certainly can. Scheduling alone will get Notre Dame 6 wins a year, and I believe they can swing a couple more wins their way. They will always be the worst ? - ? team in America, no doubt, but they can get bowl games every year, and as long as they make 6 wins that "rabid" fanbase will get them a post season date somewhere.
Can the Irish do any more damage to the program? Absolutely they can. What will hurt, and it pains me to say this, will be if Notre Dame fires Charlie Weis.
Weis is not a horrible coach or recruiter in my opinion. Weis is doing what he can with what will come there. I don't think Mack Brown could recruit much better to South Bend than Weis. Notre Dame alumnus and fans live in the past and refuse to wake up. Your team is not playing Army for national championships anymore. The glory days are gone and will never return. Fans may very well have Notre Dame's 5th coach in a short time exit because they think the talent is there to go 13-0 when it is just NOT there anymore.
So what has he done for the Irish? Weis has brought stability to the program. He is "one of them", having graduated from the school, and if they let him go he will land at another head coaching perch and establish a dominant program. This guy a'int Ty Willingham. The man lands decent recruits, he does not give up on his team, and he keeps on coaching and fighting. Much more than I can say for what Ty Willingham has done at Washington.
In any event, lets all sit back, enjoy the beating, and hope this mess sorts itself out at some point soon. Im sure by bowl beating time the Irish will have it all figured out.
Sarge
Not that I'm holding myself out as an expert, (as I sit here writing, drinking my Natural Light and eating jerky), but when is enough going to be enough?
Notre Dame has been hammered by every decent team they've ran into the last few years. This is nothing either new or unexpected.
How far have the Irish fallen? Notre Dame fans EXPECT to lose to USC. The only question to the average Irish fan is "how much"?
Program Prestige? Remember when you faced Notre Dame, were not a "cupcake" and actually had to worry about winning? Take the "all stars" of Notre Dame the last five years and line them up against a similar paring from USC, Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, LSU, and Georgia. Notre Dame would not stay within 30 points of any of them. I'd wager for all star teams from Michigan, Florida State, Oregon, Utah, and Boise State being able to do almost the same. The talent level at Notre Dame seems to take a nose dive year after year, sometimes seemingly game after game. Has been this way for quite some time.
Remember all those National Championships? The height of the Holtz glory days? Well, the glory days are certainly gone in South Bend. Almost yearly, Notre Dame fans are looking for a savior, someone to resurrect the championships of yester year.
Enter Charlie Weis, a guy who claimed he could "out scheme" everyone. A guy with an outstanding football mind, from a winning factory of professional football. He looked okay to start, going 19-6 (still a joke, but not a knee slapper). Par for the Golden course though, the bottom has totally fallen out on the Irish since that "warm" start.
This year? Notre Dame WILL finish up at 6-6, probably headed to El Paso for the Sun Bowl, and, in true Irish fashion, will take away a bowl spot from another 6-6 team who likely is much more deserving, more talented, and minus USC probably has played a better schedule. Who?
A team like San Jose St, who at one time was leading the WAC, who have come back from the ashes, who have done it all right, will be home for Christmas while the Catholics get defroked and exposed yet again. Notre Dame bowl games are almost as bad as Detroit Thanksgiving day games. But don't think for one second your not going to have to keep watching it.
Can it be fixed? Can the Notre Dame ship ever be righted? No, I don't think it can.
Could Notre Dame be a consistent 8 game winner? Yes it most certainly can. Scheduling alone will get Notre Dame 6 wins a year, and I believe they can swing a couple more wins their way. They will always be the worst ? - ? team in America, no doubt, but they can get bowl games every year, and as long as they make 6 wins that "rabid" fanbase will get them a post season date somewhere.
Can the Irish do any more damage to the program? Absolutely they can. What will hurt, and it pains me to say this, will be if Notre Dame fires Charlie Weis.
Weis is not a horrible coach or recruiter in my opinion. Weis is doing what he can with what will come there. I don't think Mack Brown could recruit much better to South Bend than Weis. Notre Dame alumnus and fans live in the past and refuse to wake up. Your team is not playing Army for national championships anymore. The glory days are gone and will never return. Fans may very well have Notre Dame's 5th coach in a short time exit because they think the talent is there to go 13-0 when it is just NOT there anymore.
So what has he done for the Irish? Weis has brought stability to the program. He is "one of them", having graduated from the school, and if they let him go he will land at another head coaching perch and establish a dominant program. This guy a'int Ty Willingham. The man lands decent recruits, he does not give up on his team, and he keeps on coaching and fighting. Much more than I can say for what Ty Willingham has done at Washington.
In any event, lets all sit back, enjoy the beating, and hope this mess sorts itself out at some point soon. Im sure by bowl beating time the Irish will have it all figured out.
Sarge
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