A very brief look at Notre Dame
by Paragon SC on Nov 23, 2010 7:02 PM PST
in USC Football
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PrintEven though Notre Dame has been a shell of its former self over the past few years I still get amped up for this game.
This past weekend ND played Army at Yankee Stadium. Earlier in the week I decided to take the family into NYC on Saturday for lunch and a little shopping.
I decided not to wear my USC gear and I always do, opting instead to dress a little warmer because the wind can whip up pretty bad...I toitally forgot about ND playing at Yankee Stadium. As soon as we got near Rockerfeller Center to park the car I regretted my decision....
They were everywhere!
Everywhere I turned there were Domers and I mean everywhere, dressed in all sorts of weird outfits. My wife saw the look on my face and and chuckled, she knew I lost an opportunity to get a few licks in.
I forgot about Oregon St. I wanted to play these guys right then and there!
This game gets me fired up!
I love this program...always have. I always try to be rational and look at things as clearly as a fan can, but when it comes to ND I lose all rationality. It comes with the territory, if you love 'SC you hate ND, there is no other choice and living in the NYC area only magnifies it because the whole damn area is infested with Domers.
This game and the game against the clowns from across town matter more to me than any of the others.
This game has some implications for USC. Winning keeps them on track to finish with the same record as last season, providing they beat UCLA next week.
Losing?
Well, lets not go there.
Regardless, the game has lost a lot of its luster...
There was a time, just a few years ago, that this game carried national-title implications. In both 2005 and 2006, the teams entered the game ranked in the top 10. For the first time in nine seasons, neither team is ranked.
That is simply appaling...
All teams have a down period. We know why 'SC is down right now but the Irish being down like they have been the past few years is something to marvel, especially with the easy schedule they have played the past few years. It really hasn't been as fun as it could have been the past few years with Charlie Weis' alleged decisive schematic advantage.
Yes, I love to pound these guys into oblivion, but it tastes so much sweeter when both teams are on their A game and we rip their hearts out...2005 comes to mind.
ND has seen a bit of a resurgence this season under new head coach Brian Kelly but lets be careful here the schedule they have lined up isn't exactly indicative of them being world beaters. Kelly come in with an impressive record but if you look carefully he has some issues as well.
Both USC and Notre Dame will be starting their back up QB's on Saturday (I highly doubt that Barkley will even suit up).
It’s likely that both teams will be playing with backup quarterbacks Saturday at the Coliseum (5 p.m. on ABC). Notre Dame’s Dayne Cristwas lost for the season with a knee injury early in the Tulsa game and USC’s Matt Barkley is questionable after sustaining a high ankle sprain Saturday against Oregon State. Notre Dame is going with freshman Tommy Rees for the fourth straight game while the Trojans will use fifth-year senior Mitch Mustain if Barkley can’t play.
Saxon goes onto say that he thinks the game will be a little more competitive after the recent results for both teams.
Maybe, but I put more stock in Mitch Mustain, a senior, than I do a freshman, Tommy Rees. Mustain has some experience under his belt and knows the USC offense. Rees is a freshman has some nice games but he is still finding his way. I wouldn't get too excited over beating Army at Yankee Stadium...that was a "home" game for the Domers.
Here is a little more on Rees...
The true freshman Rees won his first start and though his stats weren’t that great, he played a very impressive game. He was very poised throughout and came up with some big plays. He only completed 13 of 20 passes for 129 yards but he also threw three touchdown passes and more important did not turn the ball over.
OK, those are some nice stats but that game was at home against a way overrated Utah. The Coliseum on the road is a different story.
I hope to look at the ND defense later on this week.
Notre Dame has looked like 'SC at times this season with some intriguing wins and some ugly losses. But because this game means so much to both programs, even if it is virtually irrelevant nationally right now, anything can happen so I take nothing for granted.
Trust Me...I am wearing my USC gear ALL week!!
FIGHT ON!
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right on
ASU fans bad, but the domer fans were insufferable during that win streak from 1983 to 1995?
it was just to friggin painful, i wanted to jump up and knock some heads.
its great that lately the patsies they schedule every year have been beating them.
i remember my father telling me about a game in the 60’s in the coliseum. the domers were killing us and still had their starters in late in the 4th qtr. the game ended at 55-0 or something like that.
so the past 8 years have been bliss. especially the blowouts.
i don’t like running up the score and showing no class,
but for the domers i say score and keep scoring if you can.
It ws 51-0
& it was the year after we spoiled their undefeated season by upsetting them 20-17 Fertig to Sherman, I guess they were pissed.
My Mother always told me not to hate someone, that you should use the word “dislike”
I HATE notre dame!
"Understanding is a virtue, hard to come by"
J. Airplane
Please...
…kill them, with fire, if possible. For all of the crap Michigan and Ohio State fans spew, Notre Dame is the worst. We gave as good as we got when Penn State played them every year, and even split our home and home in 2006-07, but their fans still act as if their emanations are not odoriferous, that their team has some exclusive claim on tradition within college football. They even refused to join the Big 10 in 1999 because playing in a conference would “undermine our Catholic identity.” They already play in the Big East in EVERY OTHER SPORT! I think playing in the Big 10 would have undermined their earning potential and their number of cupcake wins against the crappy Stanford teams and 1-AA service academies at the time. Just remember, every loss for Notre Dame is a good day for America.
My Sentiment Driven by Senior Day
I like that, “every loss for Notre Dame is a good day for America.” I do hate Notre Dame, yet they are not as meddlesome and as much of a nuisance as UCLA. And, they actually used to have a great football team, so I have a modicum of respect for them. I really do hate them, but my hate peaked with Dr. Lou, and has subsided with his predecessors and mediocrity. I actually think highly of Brian Kelly. What he did at Cinci is remarkable.
My enthusiasm this week is heightened by Senior Day, and the prospect of Mitch Mustain leading my Trojans. I wish Barkley the best, and a speedy recovery, but I am thrilled by the prospect of Mustain, Gable, and Bradford bringing the Trojans home. It sounds like Tyler will recover, and I really love that kid, but I hope that Lane gives CJ and Allen the majority of carries in the final two weeks. As long as the boys play well and lead us to victory, which I am confident will happen.
Notre Dame has looked awful for most of the season, and USC should play well back on the SoCal natural grass. I will be rooting with a little something extra on Sat hoping that Mitch, CJ, and Allen can enhance their legacies at USC. I see a decisive USC victory pushed by a wave of emotional sentiment from some of USC’s departing warriors.
You can't put sanctions on the fkn endzone! Bowls are for salad!
Well said
Barkley will benefit by holding a clipboard and watching
Football season is here
U feeling Loco?
This is it!
This is the one game Trojan fans just hate to lose. Their winning streak (‘83 to ’95) was horrible. I worked for a very very prominent Notre Dame alum and booster (the “Gug” is named after him) during that time… and every year… well everyone has a similar story. The last nine years by contrast has not been just good… it’s been intoxicating… and Trojan fans, every last one of ‘em, want another round. So… LANE… don’t lose this one. Everyone is cutting you and the program some slack with all the NCAA stuff… but the Notre Dame game IS winnable and the Trojans are at home. The QB issues on both sides serve as an equalizer. If there is a key… it’s the team with the best defense that wins. That might give ND an edge given the last two games… they gave up just 6 points total. The Trojans during the same period gave up over 50. Yeah yeah SC’s competition was better… but ND did beat incoming PAC-12 member… Utah. And they did it with a back-up freshmen QB who played very well. Still, the SC defense has, overall, played better lately with the offense not able to get off the bus. Bottom line: under the circumstances it’s a “pick ’em”. The team that wants it most and plays the best defense wins… soooo, Lane, Monte, Trojans… on BOTH sides of the ball… THIS IS IT!!!
trojanWar
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