Notre Dame

I'm pretty sure lightning is automatic -- there's no call to make, the game is halted, end of story.

Also, the fact that the thing happened last year will undoubtedly influence future decisions.

 

They were following an NCAA rule on lightning yesterday.

What did you want them to do? Put everyone in danger out of respect to the kid who died? To balance things out?

I hardly think it would have pissed the family off to see that the university - although in this case it had no choice - had learned from its mistake.

 

It sounds like they handled yesterday perfectly. But I would wonder why they couldn't have handled that practice day last year in a similar fashion.

 

The bottom line is USF won and USF shows up in big games when it matters. They upset FSU two years ago with a rookie QB. They beat WVU in Tampa in 2007 when they were a top 5 team. They Beat AUburn on the road that same year. Now they beat Notre Dame in South Bend. In 2002 Rod Rutherford, Larry Fitzgerald and Pitt put up 450 yards of offense in South Bend as I sit in the upper corner of the endzone. Notre Dame won 14-6. Why? Rod Rutherford was an interception machine. Notre Dame was the better team that day. It's not how many yards you can collect. Its how many points you can score. USF scored more. The end.

And yes, Notre Dame has lost five of six to the alleged Big Least, including losses to shitty Syracuse and UCONN in 2009. They've lost two of three to Pitt, which is nothing better than mediocre. And if Purdue and Michigan had hired anyone but Danny Hopeless and Richrod their Slapping Irish's record would probably be considerably more mediocre over the past four years.

 

Basically - world's biggest cop-out coming - we're all just going to see how the rest of this plays out. With as much money as Notre Dame puts into football, though, it is amazing that they can have this long of a sustained period of mediocrity.

 

I laughed my ass off when USF returned that fumble 90-plus yards for the score. I laughed even harder when the "fired-up" Irish, who all must've headbutted the "Play like a champion today" sign turned the ball over on their first drive of the third quarter when a receiver -- who wasn't fucking LOOKING for the ball -- was doinked by a pass in the (how fitting) golden dome.

I hate the fact that ND gets the fucking benefit of the doubt because of their tradition. All they've accomplished in the past eight or nine years is almost beating USC. That, and a Hawaii bowl win.

Yet the fucking excuses, both on here and in the national media, astound. Wanna know how I know USF was superior yesterday? The fucking scoreboard.

Hold on to the ball, or don't. Look for the ball, or don't. Make a fucking play, or don't. And if you don't, do not go around whining about how you're the better fucking team.

Wake up the echoes, etc.

 

You probably could have asked them if you were at the game. They carried the flag out during the national anthem.

I think ND did a shitty job handling the entire situation... but apparently the Sullivans don't. They are still pretty closely associated with the university (who I believe cut them a HUGE check, but that doesn't mean the Sullivans had to participate in the pre-game ceremony. That was their choice.)

 

No "you" about it.

There are other ways to analyze a football game than just looking at the "fucking scoreboard." And engaging in analysis of the game doesn't mean that you have a dog in the fight. Attack the arguments, not the posters. People can see something differently than you in a game without it meaning that they are in the tank. I think it is a fairly uncontroversial football convention that upsets occur because teams win the turnover battle. Because they make fewer mistakes. Saying "better team" seems to set people off. Perhaps a better way to say it would be "more talented team." Or "potentially better team."

The Cubs beat Roy Halladay a few weeks ago.

Want to argue that the Cubs are better than the Phillies? The Phillies with their ace on the mound?

 

Nothing more needs to be said.

 

I'd say the hatred and criticism on this thread are just as delusional and irrational.

 

Maybe a better way of putting it would be that Notre Dame outplayed South Florida for most of the game, but made too many mistakes when it mattered.

Is that bad luck or is it a Notre Dame flaw or USF strength? I don't know. I'd have to see how the season plays out. I'd also be interested in seeing some sabermetric-type data regarding football - are turnovers in the red zone a trait that a team can have? Are forcing turnovers in the red zone an actual trait that a team can have? Or is it a lot like "clutch hitting"?

Remember, in 2002, under Ty Willingham, Notre Dame won a lot of games this way. Fluke turnovers and such. Turnovers giveth and they taketh away.