This week we turn our attention to Notre Dame, who lost to Michigan 38-0. And my first question has to be... why was this game even allowed on TV? There should be a law against putting two 0-2 teams on national television, especially in college football where two losses means you're essentially out of contention for a national championship.
Still, I'm not one of these Notre Dame haters that's gonna bash 'em while they're down. Notre Dame football is polarizing, just like the Cowboys are polarizing to NFL fans, or the Lakers are to basketball fans, or the Yankees to baseball fans, or Nick Sandin is to females (you get my point). To a certain extent I can understand all the vitriol hurled at the Irish. They have a TV deal that no other college football program will ever hope to get, and all that hoity-toity Touchdown Jesus nonsense can get a little tiresome at times. On the other hand, I have to defend the Irish (and not because I'm CK1 the Irish Assassin), because they consistently play the toughest schedule in college football year in and year out. Name me another college team that plays Michigan and USC every year. Other Notre Dame rivalries are nothing sneeze at either (Penn State, Purdue, et al).
Despite the 0-3 start, the Irish can still win six games this year and go to a bowl game. Michigan State next weekend is a winnable game for them. They also have a chance against Purdue and UCLA this year, and should beat Navy, Air Force, Duke, and Stanford. They have a true freshman starting at QB, who will only get better as the season goes along. And just think how bad it would be if their coach wasn't an offensive genius. Besides, there's probably something in their TV contract that guarantees the Irish a spot in a BCS game.
Other thoughts... USC looked good against Nebraska, but they also have to play Oregon and Cal on the road and I'm predicting the Trojans will lose one of those games (unless Pete Carroll pulls a Belichick and starts stealing signals)... I'd have to say that Oklahoma still looks like the best team in the country... Florida is ranked a little high for my tastes, so is Wisconsin... If you didn't foresee UCLA stumbling like they did this week then it's amazing you're still breathing...
-CK1
