Onward to Victory!

Unbelievable! Something I never thought I would see.

I was three years old the last time Notre Dame was ranked #1 in the AP poll (back in 1993). I wasn’t even born the last time the Rally Sons won a National Championship. Yet all I have heard about my entire life is the glory of Notre Dame and how great they used to be.  

Yet for my entire life, when Notre Dame fans would sing of her, it would be of the glory days and certainly not in the 21st century.  Yet everybody would get to see the Irish week in and week out due to their contract with NBC, and of course everybody would sound off about how much of a joke they are or how they don’t deserve to make a BCS bowl. Like in any sport, unless you were a part of the group (in this case, a son of Notre Dame our Mother), then you forget about “her fame” of the past and see only the “now” in front of you.

I grew up as a Notre Dame fan. I was raised in a household where my parents went to Michigan State, my sister to Penn State (and I ended up following her there), and my brother to Notre Dame. I ended up more than anything growing up cheering for the gold and blue.  And while I would sing all three fight songs with my family, and lose our voices screaming for one team one week and another the next, my true first “love” of a college team was Notre Dame. Thus, I heard rah rah stories from the 13 national championships and seven Heisman Trophy winners. And of course I knew the story of Rudy Ruettiger playing for Notre Dame. But when the best Domers I ever saw play were Autry Denson and Brady Quinn, it’s tough to fully visualize how good they truly were.

Like the New York Yankees or the Dallas Cowboys, Notre Dame is a team you either love or you hate. Notre Dame fans will say “it’s unfair that we are treated that way” and haters will always hate and fight for the Irish to be left out of championship discussions. But this year has shown one thing for sure in terms of what ND brings to college football: When Notre Dame is at their best and able to win every game on their schedule (nearly always strongest in the NCAA, beautiful for the BCS), the sport is just better. Whether you are an enemy of the Irish or follow them with all of your heart, you tune in to watch them play. As evidence, BCS Championship ticket prices skyrocketed by an average of $400 per ticket when Notre Dame moved to #1 in the rankings last week after Oregon and Kansas State lost.

It’s true that the Irish success hasn’t come without heartbreak to their fans. Each and every Notre Dame fan has had his or her heart broken just in the past few years. Whether it was the Bush Push of 2005, the 41-14 loss to JaMarcus Russell a year later, or just the ineffectiveness of coaches like Bob Davies, Ty Willingham, and Charlie Weis…you name it, the heartbreak is there, like it is for any school.

Hearts of Domers broke at least three times during the Pitt game alone! My family and I traveled out to South Bend for the game, and we were sure in for a treat! I will never forget the roller coaster of emotions that day. The late ND interception that should have sealed a victory for Pitt was just the beginning of moments when the 80,000+ at Notre Dame Stadium thought that the perfect season was over. The game went to overtime, and after Pitt made their field goal it was time for Notre Dame to try their own. I held my niece, her body shaking more from nerves than the cold, watched as Irish kicker Kyle Brindza’s field goal attempt surely was going wide left but then miraculously hooked back through the uprights. We watched them drive in the second overtime, and right as they are ready to score, we saw them fumble it right in front of us. Then we saw Pitt’s field goal (which my brother and I still swear looking live that it went through the uprights) squeak just wide right. Then, finally the roller coaster ended with a TD in the third OT to survive.

The experts say that Notre Dame will never be a BCS contender with an ugly win like that on their resume, and Irish fans then had to cheer for upsets to take down those above them in the rankings. But in the end, all three teams (Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State) lost a game, and Notre Dame ends up #1 with one game remaining. I got to watch the USC game with my niece, and was able to celebrate with her after a victory, sending the Irish to their first BCS championship game ever. Those loyal Irish fans rewarded after nearly a quarter-century of troubled times could finally celebrate again.

So now, let’s look forward to the BCS Championship game. Though it is not official yet, as BCS rankings will not come out until tonight (and the final rankings next Sunday), Notre Dame will be #1 with a near perfect “score” in the rankings. #2 Alabama and #3 Georgia face each other next week in the SEC Championship with the winner surely to end up as the #2 team in the final BCS rankings. #4 Florida and #5 Oregon were cheering for USC to take down the Irish, and now are all but out of the running for the National Championship.

So between Alabama and Georgia, who should Irish fans hope to play? Many “experts” say that Alabama’s defense is just too good and Georgia is a bit more inconsistent, so the Irish should cheer for the Bulldogs to knock off the Tide next week. But the good ol’ SEC enthusiasts (and frankly about 99% of America) says that Notre Dame has absolutely no chance against ANY team from the SEC.

Really? Wake up!

I see too often SEC teams struggling against nobody’s in non-conference play. Florida (supposedly #4 in the country?) needed a blocked punt on the last play of the game to beat FCS Louisiana-Lafayette! Georgia struggled early in the year as well, and Alabama played an insanely weak out-of-conference schedule this year. But the echoes of “SEC is so great” again are raining down upon the country.

I think those cheering for the Irish are about the only ones nationwide who are giving them a chance, and the rest of the country is already sick of hearing her name on SportsCenter. Reports are that Notre Dame will probably be about a 10 point underdog against either team, and nearly everybody claims that the game will be a complete blowout. Let me send your way some reasons why the game will be much closer than all you “experts” think…

•  Strength of Schedule: Everybody is so quick to say that the SEC has the toughest schedule…and that might be the true in terms of conference schedule. But Notre Dame can volley some of the best teams from various conferences, and in fact has a MUCH BETTER strength of schedule than Alabama or Georgia. But those who cheer for the Tide or Bulldogs ignore their FCS opponents and base their “strength” on the SEC alone.

• Defense wins championships: In terms of points allowed, Notre Dame ranks second in the country with 10.3 points per game allowed. The only team better? Alabama (9.3 points per game). But that number is aided by shutouts against high-powered (sarcasm much?) FCS teams Western Kentucky and Western Carolina. ND doesn’t have that. All they have on their resume is FBS teams and some great goal line stands against Stanford and USC.  Those moments show much more than numbers do.

• Underrated offense: Let me start with Theo Riddick, a RB/WR who had a GREAT game last week against the Trojans. He impresses me most with his pass-catching skills, but also with his ability to shake off would-be tacklers. He’s extremely difficult to bring down, There’s also TE Tyler Eiffert, who acts like the thunder to Riddick’s lightning. At 6’5”, Eiffert’s ability to win jump balls might be the perfect counter-attack to a high-speed defense of the SEC. And his ability to pluck those balls seemingly from the sky is uncommon for a college player. Finally, Everett Goulson showed his true potential in the USC game. He made some great throws, especially on the slant and post patterns, that I expect to see lots of in the championship game. Now what does that mean for facing Alabama or Georgia? Not too much, as a Nick Saban or Mark Richt defense is 100x better than a Lane Kiffin defense. He showed he can do more than just scramble or hand the ball off, though.

• Manti Te’o: He’s a Heisman finalist for sure, quite possibly the winner. If you want to talk about most valuable player, there is very little doubt that he is it. That defense is nothing without him. The odds are going to be against him since he doesn’t play quarterback (or any offensive position for that matter). But he’s a great player who deserves at least a shot at the award.

Whether it’s Alabama or Georgia, a win for the Irish will be no small feat. I just hope that Brian Kelly doesn’t bring out his same old offense because you know Saban/Richt will be more than adequately prepared for it. If he does, then Notre Dame will have no chance to win.  Hopefully over the next 44 days, Kelly will add a couple of wrinkles to the offense and give plenty of time so that all of the team is ready for the new packages. 

It might be a while before we see such a great national championship matchup again. All of her loyal sons are going to be heading down to Miami, converging on the Orange Bowl from all across the country.  The SEC could very much win their seventh straight, and we would be marching further down an already slippery slope toward an SEC-biased system.

The country is thankful to not have another SEC vs. SEC title game again…or at least they should be. They also should be hoping for a new conference to win the championship. We can’t afford another SEC championship. Notre Dame is just the team to make that happen as they play a brand of low-scoring, defensively-oriented football. It’s the perfect story to end a run of (partially fabricated) SEC dominance.

Honestly, this country should be rooting (praying?) for the Irish to move onward to victory.