Re: 2009 SportsJournalists.com College Football Poll -- 10/12/2009 Page 14
Oct. 12, 2009
The Same Old Tears On A New Background
as Illustrated by the Blue and Gold
By SLAPPY4428
Leprechaun at Heart
They’re 4-1, have the nation’s No. 1 quarterback in passing efficiency and a Heisman candidate, won three games in the waning moments and could have atoned for their only loss.
So where’s the respect for Notre Dame? Where’s the love for the nation’s most visible program? Here, there’s none. Not that there’s a problem with that. In fact, you can take Notre Dame’s point total in all five of the previous regular-season weeks – 160 – and they’d be 22nd in this week’s poll.
Is it jealousy? Is it hatred of Charlie Weis? Is it a deep-rooted hatred for Jimmy Clausen? Is it all of the above?
Let’s ask the fine folks on the Notre Dame fan boards, always a font of reality. Take Clausen’s Heisman chances. At Blue and Gold Illustrated, “irishweis” is convinced there’s a conspiracy in the Heisman award.
“He'll never win it now. Give it to Bradford. I mean, that's what we'll be hearing from the media that Bradford is back in it with his performance yesterday. Oh, wait. Give it to Tebow. I mean he missed a game and really doesn't have great stats this year, but he did play decent when handing the ball off last night against LSU for the win. Sorry, what I meant to say is McCoy will win it.
“This is what the media wants anyway and I think we all know it. They are in love with those three QBs and have been from the moment they heard all were returning to school this year.
“Based on performance, Clausen should be hands down the front runner right now. If he plays well against USC and wins he's definitely in the lead, but with Fla, Okl and Fla having to play some other more high profile games this year, and with the conf championship games they will probably play in that gives the media more opportunity to salivate over those three QBs.”
Ahhh, how quickly they forget Paul Hornung and John Huarte…
We move on to the fact that Golden Domers might not have warmed up to Charlie Weis. Let’s face it, he’s not the most telegenic of coaches. Kind of a cross between Abe Gibron and R. Lee Ermey. And he’s not warm and fuzzy. And he thinks highly of himself. And he’s not Lou Holtz.
“I think there are a lot of ways Lou stands head, shoulders, torso, hips, thighs, and knees over Weis,” says PatH72. “I agree there are no excuses against USC. It's put up or shut up time. If we cannot beat them at home, with the players we have, this year then it's probably not going to happen very soon. I'm sure, however, that if we get within 30 or so of them there will be a sizable number of folks pointing out how we're "making progress" and will be able to beat them some undefined number of seasons into the future. I certainly hope we see a team fired up and unwilling to accept an 8th straight defeat to USC.”
Mh2365 has a counterpoint.
“Jesus ... Holtz talk again ...everyone does realize that was two decades ago right? If he was still coaching we'd be Florida St ... he proved the game passed him at South Carolina ... If Holtz was our coach next week vs. USC we would lose by 45 and maybe have 10 kids suspended for fighting after the game ...”
As for playing Southern Cal this week (Note: I expect a tersely worded harrumph from the Southern Cal media relations folks, who ask that media run USC, University of Southern California, So. California, Troy or Trojans and not to use Southern Cal. Remember, you can’t spell “suck” without “USC”.)
Some folks at NDNation have an interesting observation. A poster called NDduLac opined:
“First, if I'm Weis and Clausen's healthy enough, I'd go "five wide and no huddle" which would limit SC's ability to rotate defensive personnel from the outset. I still believe this is ND's only chance to beat SC.
“Second, I'm not sure why, but ND's offense just seems far more comfortable in the up-tempo game - everything offensively seems so much more fluid and every position's execution seems superior to me.
“Lastly, since the Irish are home, crowd noise shouldn't be a problem for audibles if necessary.”
When a poster named ACross opted to chide about his use of “If I’m Weis” in his argument, NDduLac opted for an indepth analysis --“**** off Andy, if you don't agree, no problem.”
This is what’s known as an improvement. Back in the day, many of those words would be misspelled from the fans of Chicagoland.
And of course, there is the tradition of Notre Dame – the Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus, Fair Catch Corby, owning their own network, old men dressed up as Leprachauns, and of course, phantom penalties. There are people who understand this game and its complete ramifications in relation to God, college football and that this is more than just a game.
“Notre Dame has every advantage to finally beat USC.
1. The game is at home
2. We have mature talent
3. They are starting a freshman QB
4. They had to rebuild their defense this year.
The entire season rides on the outcome:
1. BCS berth
2. Recruting class
3. Clausen's Heisman candidacy
4. Charlie's job
5. Historical implications for a 5th loss by one coach
“After seeing that the intangibles and motivation are on our side, there is absolutely no excuse for a loss in this game. But, I predict a sound defeat. Our 4-1 record is not impressive...the wins or the loss (Michigan is not very good).
“This game has been circled on the calendar since last season. All chips are in. Anyone here who tries to downplay the importance of this game ("we should not expect to win", "we just need to be competitive", "rebuilding is hard"), does not understand the storied history of this great program.”
So I hope you remember all that when you vote next week. otherwise, The Oak will get you.
SportsJournalists.com COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL
10/12/2009
RK. TEAM (1st) PTS Last
1. Florida (26) 841 1
2. Alabama (6) 805 3
3. Texas (2) 798 2
4. Virginia Tech 699 6
5. Boise State 695 5
6 . USC 646 6
7. Ohio State 609 8
8. Cincinnati 581 9
9. Texas Christian 548 10
10. LSU 535 4
11. Iowa 510 12
12. Oregon 449 14
13. Miami (Fla.) 438 11
14. Oklahoma St. 379 13
15. Penn State 344 15
16. Kansas 342 16
17. Nebraska 330 19
18. BYU 313 17
19. South Florida 238 22
20. Oklahoma 232 21
tie. Georgia Tech 232 23
22. Utah 110 NR
23. South Carolina 105 NR
24 Houston 66 NR
25 Notre Dame 47 NR
Also receiving votes: West Virginia 35, Pitt 31, Central Michigan 26, Mississippi 16, Missouri 12, Wisconsin 12, Auburn 9, Texas Tech 5, Arkansas 4, Cal 2, Michigan 2, Oregon State 2, Navy 1, Tulsa 1.
The SportsJournalists.com college football poll committee: Slappy4428 (chairman), 2muchcoffeeman, , Azom, Bubbler BYH, Della9250, Diabeetus, Dparker85, Elliotte Friedman, GB-Hack, Hammer Pants, Hank Scorpio, Huggy, Ishouldcoco, Jesus Muscatel, Joe Schmoe, KYsportswriter, Layman, Madhavok, Matt1735, Orville Redenbacher, Oz, Piotr Rasputin, Popedirkbenedict, Precious Roy, Red Smith Clone, Rumpleforeskin, , spnited, Starman, Stormsurge, Sxysptswrtr, Trooper Bari, WS, Songbird. Not Voting: Agate Page, Rockbottom.
