Notre Lame

Week 4; Notre Dame (2-1)(Lost to Michigan) vs. Purdue (1-2) (Losses to Oregon and Northern Illinois)

Although I was flipping through the channels to watch other games I most definitely paid attention to the Notre Dame/Purdue contest. It is one of the few games with unranked opponents that managed to keep much of my attention for most of the afternoon. As I watched the Fighting Irish battle the Purdue Boilermakers I emboldened myself in my own opinion of how overrated Notre Dame is every year. I did predict a Notre Dame victory but I didn't predict how good of a game Purdue would make it. Relishing in the possibility of a Notre Dame loss, I quickly began to root for Purdue and although I was let down; the suspense of nearly witnessing Notre Dame fail was enough for me to compliment the Purdue Boilermakers on an outstanding effort. Even though I will ALWAYS despise Notre Dame, the scenarios of recent years involving the Fighting Irish is the prime reasoning behind this deep, passionate hatred. Lets look at this years current scenario.


1. Notre Dame lost to Michigan on the last drive of the game. Now everyone has already looked passed that loss and forgot that Notre Dame was ranked before the game and Michigan was unranked. Currently, we are hearing analysts talk about how tough the Michigan team is that beat Notre Dame 2 weeks ago(comedic relief). Michigan is so tough that they barely beat the Indiana Hoosiers last weekend (and don't forget that "tough" Michigan team lost to D-1AA power Appalachian State last year). Indiana has been at the door mat of the Big Ten Conference going 24-46 since 2003. So once again, Notre Dame is getting credit for a game they lost to an unranked opponent. How is this years Michigan team even considered tough at all? So far they have wins over Eastern and Western Michigan, Indiana and Notre Dame. Even if they are tougher than I give them credit for, they surely aren't tougher or smarter than "Offensive Genius" Charlie Wies and his endless roster of Blue Chip high school recruits!

2. After getting credit for losing to Michigan, Notre Dame will get an ENORMOUS amount of credit for barely beating Purdue. People will bow to Jimmy Clausen and talk about the Heisman. They will say that Notre Dame should be ranked again even though they repeatedly let inferior teams compete with them. It is safe to say that Purdue will be lucky to finish in the top 5 of the Big Ten conference this year but Notre Dame supporters will still throw around rankings like they just beat USC (which won't happen later in the year).

All along I have said that Notre Dame is overrated year in and year out. They get credit for creating their own schedule which features a rare combination of cupcakes and powerhouses. They continuously go to meaningless second and third rate bowl games because the minimum 6 win requirement comes compliments of Navy, Air Force, Duke, UConn, Pitt, Washington State and other bottom tier teams. That is why I am all smiles whenever I get to watch their dreams become an afterthought.

I still think it is funny that everyone jumped on the Charlie Weis bandwagon when Notre Dame announced his hiring. What everyone forgot about was the great coach that got fired before his plan could fully develop. I said from the beginning that firing Tyrone Willingham was a mistake and so far, the only winning seasons that Weis had at Notre Dame were 2005 (9-2) and 2006 (10-2). These two seasons' rosters were still packed full of the top recruiting classes that Coach Willingham brought in. Not to mention they were also All-American QB Brady Quinn's junior and senior years. The very next year (2007) Weis took the heralded Irish to a whopping 3-9 record. Coveted freshman QB Jimmy Clausen got a rough welcome to College Football after showing up in a limousine and Weis struggled with his own recruiting classes now in full swing. In 2008, Weis and QB Clausen took the Irish to a 6-6 record which landed them in the all-important Hawaii Bowl where they beat Hawaii. I don't count that Hawaii bowl game as a win because it was the HAWAII BOWL and at 6-6, they should have finished the season on the couch watching other, more deserving teams play.

Without question, Notre Dame is considered to be a national power in college football and I am going to prove that to be false right now. I will compare the last 10 season records of legit national powers to that of Notre Dames.

TEXAS LONGHORNS
Years 1998 - 2008
W/L 115 - 26
2005 National Champions
1 Heisman Trophy Winner
2 Heisman Runners Up

1998 (9 - 3) #18 Ricky Williams won Heisman Trophy
1999 (9 - 5) #21
2000 (9 - 3) #14
2001 (11 - 2) #6
2002 (11 - 2) #6
2003 (10 - 3) #8
2004 (11 - 1) #6
2005 (13 - 0) #1 National Champions; Vince Young is Heisman Trophy Runner Up
2006 (10 - 3) #13
2007 (10 - 3) #12
2008 (12 - 1) #3 Colt McCoy is Heisman Trophy Runner Up

OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Years 1998 - 2008
W/L 124 - 30
2000 National Champions
2003 National Runners Up
2004 National Runners Up
2008 National Runners Up
2 Heisman Trophy Winners
2 Heisman Runners Up

1998 (5 - 6) #63
1999 (7 - 5) #35
2000 (13 - 0) #1 National Champions; Josh Heupel is Heisman Trophy Runner Up
2001 (11 - 2) #4
2002 (12 - 2) #3
2003 (12 - 2) #3 National Runners Up; Jason White won Heisman Trophy
2004 (12 - 1) #2 National Runners Up; Adrian Peterson is Heisman Trophy Runner Up
2005 (8 - 4) #23
2006 (11 - 3) #15
2007 (11 - 3) #8
2008 (12 - 2) #5 National Runners Up; Sam Bradford wins Heisman Trophy


OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Years 1998 - 2008
W/L 108 - 30
2002 National Champions
2006 National Runners Up
2007 National Runners Up
1 Heisman Trophy Winner

1998 (11 - 1) #2
1999 (6 - 6) #44
2000 (8 - 4) #25
2001 (7 - 5) #38
2002 (14 - 0) #1 National Champions
2003 (11 - 2) #7
2004 (8 - 4) #23
2005 (10 - 2) #4
2006 (12 - 1) #3 National Runners Up; Troy Smith wins Heisman Trophy
2007 (11 - 2) #5 National Runners Up
2008 (10 - 3) #11


SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS
Years 1998 - 2008
W/L 106 - 33
2003 National Champions (Shared w/ LSU)
2004 National Champions
2005 National Runners up
3 Heisman Trophy Winners

1998 (8 - 5) #34
1999 (6 - 6) #48
2000 (5 - 7) #69
2001 (6 - 6) #56
2002 (11 - 2) #7 Carson Palmer wins Heisman Trophy
2003 (11 - 1) #1 National Champions
2004 (13 - 0) #1 National Champions; Matt Leinart wins Heisman Trophy
2005 (12 - 1) #2 National Runners Up; Reggie Bush wins Heisman Trophy
2006 (11 - 2) #5
2007 (11 - 2) #2
2008 (12 - 1) #2


MIAMI HURRICANES
Years 1998 - 2008
W/L 111 - 36
2001 National Champions
2002 National Runners Up

1998 (9 - 3) #24
1999 (9 - 4) #13
2000 (11 - 1) #3
2001 (12 - 0) #1 National Champions
2002 (12 - 1) #2 National Runners Up
2003 (11 - 2) #5
2004 (9 - 3) #11
2005 (9 - 3) #14
2006 (7 - 6) #47
2007 (5 - 7) #78
2008 (7 - 6) #60


NOTRE DAME FIGHTIN' IRISH
Years 1998 - 2008
W/L 78 - 56
0 National Championships
0 National Runners Up
0 Heisman Trophy Winners

1998 (9 - 3) #21
1999 (5 - 7) #64
2000 (9 - 3) #22
2001 (5 - 6) #62
2002 (10 - 3) #19
2003 (5 - 7) #67
2004 (6 - 6) #54
2005 (9 - 3) #18
2006 (10 - 3) #19
2007 (3 - 9) #98
2008 (7 - 6) #58

As you can see, I don't have to do the talking because the numbers speak for themselves. I despise Notre Dame because there are so many teams out there that deserve so much more attention than they do. Boise State is a great example of a team that has an unbelievable body of work over a span of 10 years. A way better body of work the Notre Dame has. If you don't believe me then look at their numbers.

BOISE STATE BRONCOS
Years 1998 - 2008
Total W/L 114 - 25

1998 (6 - 5) #69
1999 (10 - 3) #32
2000 (10 - 2) #18
2001 (8 - 4) #29
2002 (12 -1) #15
2003 (13 - 1) #16
2004 (11 - 1) #12
2005 (9 - 4) #21
2006 (13 - 0) #5
2007 (10 - 3) #13
2008 (12 - 1) #11

I don't want to hear any crap about how Boise State plays in a lower level conference. The point is this; Boise State dominates their conference year after year and, if anything have been underrated on the national scene. They compete with the big name programs when it comes to recruiting and still end up atop of the rankings every year. Notre Dame has some very distinct advantages over Boise State.

1. They get WAY better recruits
2. They can schedule whomever they want
3. They get more national exposure

...and Boise State still has more to show for the last 10 years.

In any case, I hope to do a lot of smiling in the future. Especially if my fellow Notre Dame haters keep making videos like this one.



-Russ Hale