Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Notre Dame Not as Good as Advertised
It is early November and Notre Dame is ranked in the top 10 and on the fast track to a BCS bowl. The Irish's first-year coach has the alumni dreaming of national championships to come. Notre Dame means something again.
The year is ... 2002. Sound familiar?
This was the last time that a team has been as overrated as this year's Notre Dame team.
The similarities of these two teams are astounding. Both had first-year coaches, Tyrone Willingham in 2002 and Charlie Weis this season. Both years one side of the ball carried the other. In 2002, the Irish were led by a dominating defense. This year, the offense has been going up and down the field, while the defense has struggled. Both teams were not as good as their record would imply.
In 2002, Notre Dame jumped out to 8-0 start, which eventually fizzled into a 10-3 finish. This season, the Irish are 6-2 and ranked seventh in both polls. If they can beat Navy, Syracuse, and Stanford, which they should, the Irish will finish 9-2 and will meet the nine-win and top-12 finish in the BCS requirements they need to play in a BCS bowl.
A team must be pretty darn good to play in a BCS bowl, and Notre Dame is pretty darn good, but they are the most overrated team in the country.
Now, most Notre Dame fans will say that they are underrated, and if they weren't screwed, the Irish would have beaten USC. They played brilliantly in that game, but they lost. Most people forget this, but they had already lost at home to another overrated team, Michigan State.
Before the season started many experts looked at Notre Dame's schedule and said it would have a tough time winning six games. Michigan and Tennessee had hopes of a trip to the Rose Bowl. Pittsburgh and Purdue were said to be among the favorites to win the Big East and Big 10, respectively. Pittsburgh has to win its next two games to become bowl eligible while Purdue already knows it will be sitting at home during the holidays.
Notre Dame's best win has come against a highly-underachieving 6-3 Michigan team. Notre Dame's only other win against a team with a winning record was a 49-23 victory over 5-4 Brigham Young.
In fact, the opponents Notre Dame has already played are a combined 36-35. Take away USC and that record drops to 27-35. At most schools, going 6-2 against that type of competition isn't going to get the coach a 10-year extension. Ten years ago, that wouldn't have gotten the coach a one-year extension.
Don't be mistaken, Notre Dame is a good football team led by a very good coach, but they aren't great as some people suggest.
The Irish have one of the most explosive offenses in school history. They are averaging 334.4 yards passing and 38.2 points per game, but their defense could be considered below-average at best, especially against the pass. They are giving up 409.4 total yards a game and 291.6 through the air.
In Notre Dame's two losses, it has given up 964 yards and 78 points. Without Brady Quinn and the rest of the offense, it could have been long year in South Bend.
In 2002, Notre Dame's luck and schedule caught up to them at the end of the year. It didn't even make a BCS bowl. That will not happen this season. Navy, Syracuse, and Stanford are not exactly USC and Boston College, which were the two teams that beat Notre Dame at the end of 2002.
The Irish will get a dose of reality in whatever BCS bowl they play in. Their defense is not good enough to keep up with a good team on a neutral site.
With that being said, Notre Dame will be a major player in the college football world as long as Charlie Weis is there, just not this year.