Then (OK, flag me for piling on but it was just too darn tempting...), there is the venerable Sporting News this week and a similar analysis from Matt Hayes on Friday:
They were flying back from Colorado Springs, Colo., two weeks ago, fresh off a big-time victory over Air Force that set up a blockbuster, make-or break home game against Army that unofficially would secure the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.
Then, out of nowhere from the back of the plane, came a thunderous uproar. The Notre Dame players had just learned that Texas had lost. Suddenly, the team that lost by 26 at home in its only meaningful game so far this season was thinking about playing for it all quicker than you can say Hiawatha Francisco.
"These kids are dialed in," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "Just like the rest of us are." They’re lurking around, and you don’t see it. They’re winning games, climbing up various polls, climbing back into our consciousness, and you don’t really feel it. Hold on tight, everyone. Notre Dame is back.
All it will take to put the Irish in the national title game is a win at Southern California this week. Their coach, bless his heart, says they have just as much of a chance as the next guy. Says ND had its "blemish" — just like everyone else.
"We’re not alone," he says.
Oh, but they most certainly are.
Not just anyone beats Army, Navy and Air Force in the same season. You try that, Ohio State.
Not just anyone allows a pathetic Michigan State team a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, only to snatch victory in the last few minutes with the help of two unthinkable Sparty turnovers.
Not just anyone gets pushed around at home by an average UCLA team, then watches the Bruins stumble around in the secondary in the last minute of the game and ekes out a victory.
Not just anyone plays two of the worst five teams in college football (Stanford and North Carolina) and lives to tell.
Look, let’s not kid anyone: If we’re comparing the resumes of the nation’s top one-loss teams, Notre Dame is the definition of alone. The Irish’s best win? Against Georgia Tech, the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division champions in a league that has somehow fallen below the Big East in the BCS Big Six pecking order.
Ask any of the one-loss teams which schedule they’d rather play — theirs or Notre Dame’s — and the answer would have a Blue and Gold rhyme to it. ND’s cake schedule overshadows major flaws in this team — on both sides of the ball.
I’m not saying the Irish defense is horrible, but the 26 points North Carolina scored in storied Notre Dame Stadium are the most points the Heels have scored all season against a Division I opponent.
I know Irish quarterback Brady Quinn is having a big year and all and the Dublin Coffman grad is the next coming of Tom Brady, but let’s look a little closer, shall we? The Irish have played five games this season against defenses currently ranked No. 83 or worse — games in which Quinn has thrown 17 touchdown passes and two interceptions.
I know Weis is the greatest coach on the planet and all, but in his two years at ND he’s 4-3 against ranked teams and 15-1 against the slugs of the college football world. And for the life of me, I can’t forget that Michigan game two months ago, when the overrated Irish were exposed and Chuck Almighty’s offense churned out 245 total yards and five turnovers.
That’s some blemish.
