T1B

Mikey wrote:ND will have to dominate the first half

Don't know if that'll be a measure of too much. Many teams have outplayed USC in the first half this season and lost...badly.

and play an almost perfect game to have a chance in hell.

Arizona didn't play anywhere near perfect and they were down by a TD in the 4th at one point...to me that's having a "chance in hell".

I'm surprised so few people are giving ND any sort of shot to win this game. Face it, SC is going to lose eventually. I don't think it's a stretch to say it could be to their arch rival who happens to be a very well coached 1 loss team, who can put up lots of points, and is hosting the game in South Bend. This is a team that is one TD in overtime short of being undefeated, and a team who has already beaten 3 ranked opponents (that is, teams who were ranked at the time they played). You gotta like their chances, too.

RadioFan wrote:Shit, all of you know NBC is going to be sucking ND's dick closer than a cowpatty to Bevo's asshole before it's about to come out. And if ND actually is able to beat USC, you know NBC will declare them in a BCS game, if not the de-facto MNC.

:roll:

Actually, if you go to any of the ND message boards, especially NDNation, they'll complain incessantly about an anti-ND bias at NBC. Back when the contract was up for renegotiation in 2003, there was actually a contingent there advocating that we give NBC the one-finger salute and see if we could hook up with Fox.

My personal opinion: NBC has a more difficult job televising ND than any other network, as NBC is the only network tied into televising a particular game. They have a fine line to walk between trying to be as objective as possible, and acknowledging the rather obvious fact as to which side their bread is buttered on. I don't know how they could do a better job under the circumstances.

Having said that, I'll agree with the NDNation posters on one point: the guitar rendition of the ND Victory March that NBC plays going into commercial breaks is Godawful, although I don't see it as quite the sacrilege/personal insult that many do. If they had wanted a sound clip to go into commercials, they probably would have been better off just recording the band playing the Victory March.

And btw, if ND beats USC on Saturday (and that's a big if, but remember, ND is typically at its best when in the role of giant killer), no question that ND would be deserving of a BCS bid if the season ended on Saturday (of course, there's a lot more football still left to play after Saturday). ND is guaranteed a BCS bid with a Top Six finish in the final BCS poll. If we beat USC, I don't see any way that we won't be in the Top Six in the first BCS poll that gets released the following Monday. As for the national championship, we're not ready for that yet, but next year could be a different story.

Oh, and btw, I see Meds still hasn't gotten over that Frenchy obsession. :roll: At least he kept it on one thread this time.

In life, there are few absolutes. But with respect to The French, one is clear: their fans are and will always be the most myopic in all of collegiate athletics. Apologies in advance to the word athletics, I meant no disrespect.

It is true that The French enjoyed quite a run on Soutern Cal during their darkest of days, and it's in no way surprising that The French will stoop so low as to to dig this deep into the history books to find something making their team (read: former teams) relevant today.

Keeping in the spirit of this thread, let's be honest with each other. PtTCF (Pete the Trophy Case Filler) has flat-out owned The French for the past three years. Sure, in 2001 PtTCF stumbled against a pathetic 5-6 French squad. And how did he respond?

31-point beatdown.
31-point plungering.
31-point hurry-up-and-lose.
93

You see? The French only love trends when they are favorable, so naturally a 15-year winless streak during the darkest of Southern Cal's days sounds nice. Never mind that the streak ended in the prior century.

While it may feel good to have a historical advantage, which is ultimately the only place The French can win an argument these days, what the poor French miss is the following:

USC Pass Offense YTD - 118 for 185, 1,746 yards, 9.4 YPC, 15 TD
USC Rush Offense YTD - 209 carries for 1,456 yards, 7.0 YPC, 19 TD

French Pass Offense YTD - 125 for 193, 1,649 yards, 8.5 YPC, 13 TD
French Rush Offense YTD - 229 carries for 872 yards, 3.8 YPC, 11 TD

Do you see what PtTCF no doubt already sees? That's right. A team with a marginal, at-best, running game. Want to bet PtTCF is able to shut this running game down and force Brady "I'm Not Gay, Really" Quinn to throw on us? How did Gaylord Quinn fare against the Trojans a year ago?

15 for 29, 105 yards, 1 TD.

D.J. Fitzpatrick was the leader for The French in total yardage that day. Too bad he's the punter. Not that there's anything wrong with it...


Because I'm feeling gracious today, I'd like to thank The French for their willingness to become a part of history this Saturday. That's right. Through five games, the Trojans led by PtTCF have amassed over 3,200 yards of total offense. The 2005 vintage of The French will keep with tradition and lie down when the Trojans continue on this path, on their way to NCAA records for total offense in a season. At their current pace, they'll be at over 7,500 yards by the end of the season. Bowl game excluded, of course. In this regard, The French will become a part of history. Congratulations.

Back to 1996. Let's see what both programs have accomplished through today:

Southern Cal
Bowl record of 3-2
Two Heisman Trophies
Two National Championships

The French

Bowl record of 0-5
Zero Heisman Trophies
Zero National Championships

Now, for fun, back to 1983, the year of The French's streak. Let's see how those match up:

Southern Cal
Bowl record of 8-8
Two Heisman Trophies
Two National Championships

The French
Bowl record of 5-10 (including losing the last 7 in a row!)
One Heisman Trophy
One National Championship

You see kids? No matter how you slice it, The French are still a pathetic squad whose best accomplishments seem to be against a single team, instead of the entire field.

But yep, that's right, since 1989 this is what The French have accomplished:



In that same time, this is what The Trojans have accomplished:





Those poor French. Someday after 10/15/05 maybe they'll matter again.

Yeah, Carson Daly won a Heisman for you, Meds. Props on that, I guess.

Jimmy Medalions wrote:PtTCF (Pete the Trophy Case Filler)

Holy shit! Are you fucking serious? Pete the Trophy Case Filler? That is they gayest shit I've ever heard and I was around when was more proud of their football players for being in an Abercrombie catalog! I guess I'll take a trademark out on CtTCM for Charlie the Trophy Case Maker because all of our shit is full. But that did come in the past, and I won't degrade this thread or most of the fine people here and going board bitch and trying to claim scoreboard on shit that happened when our grandpappy's were morse coding smack to each other.

All I have to say is ..-. ..- -.-. -.- - .... . - .-. --- .--- .- -. ... !

Jimmy Medalions wrote: But yep, that's right, since 1989 this is what The French have accomplished:



In that same time, this is what The Trojans have accomplished:





Those poor French. Someday after 10/15/05 maybe they'll matter again.

DING, DING, DING! The Winner and......

Cicero wrote:DING, DING, DING! The Winner and......

Go away, the big boys are playing.

Well, you might want to tag out cause Meds got you in the Figure 4.

Cicero wrote:Well, you might want to tag out cause Meds got you in the Figure 4.

He does? Why, because he posted a picture of an empty trophy case? I don't get it.

This thread rules.

"I bet Meshawn is still wearing his parka" rules.

Meds' happy/goofy/soon to be bewildered pic of Bob Davie rules.

TiC coming in here rules.

Meds' "I suck and I'm still in the end zone" caption rules.

Fuck, I haven't enjoyed a message board read as much as this one in a long time.

Anyway...

Somebody in here predicted USC would struggle early and lead at the half 17-14 and then their horses would take over in the second half and they'd end up winning 38-21, something like that.

Sounds reasonable to me.

Still...

Still......

This game bothers me. Deep down, I have some fear here.

Like Meds has been saying, the stats say USC hasn't been struggling. My eyes say something else. My eyes have witnessed injuries and really spotty play in the SC secondary. My eyes have witnessed way too many careless mistakes: Dropped passes, blown coverages, bad penalties, freakish turnovers...

Mostly, my eyes have seen a team that has looked very beatable, despite each game's final outcome.

One of these days, against a determined, well coached opponent playing at home in their season's version of the Super Bowl, USC's penchant for blase play and careless self destruction is going to prove too much to overcome.

Notre Dame, playing at home, with two weeks off, in Weis' first game against a somewhat battered and bruised SC?

This is watershed territory.

This one feels scary. USC had best not come out flat again and get down early again. This one, they need to've already applied the kill shot by halftime. Squash all hope early, or ND will hang around all fucking day and....who knows?

USC is going to lose at some point, and maybe it won't be this year. If there ever was a game this year that feels like it could be the one, this is it.

Texas, in the Rose Bowl? Please. If USC runs the table the Rose Bowl will be as dramatic as any other staged coronation ceremony, even if they're not lucky enough to get Texas as their opponent.

They'd destroy Texas though, if it comes to it. They'd score at will against those guys, if they keep it together long enough to get there.

Dunno though 'bout this weekend. I'll be damn glad to just get through it with the streak intact.

Then I'll worry about Cal at their place, since Cal's just been a major headache. If SC makes it undefeated to the UCLA game, hey, no worries there. UCLA will score some points but their D will never be able to slow down SC's offense enough to keep pace...

Notre Dame, this weekend....This is the one.

On the bright side though, if Meds' bravado is correct and USC pastes another annhilation on ND this go around, hey, that Golden Dome bitch is truly dead and buried once and for all and SC probably then will go on to sail into another BCS Bowl Game destruction of yet another overrated Big XII pretender.

I just know I'm sure hoping to see a whole new slew of Meds' game pics/sigs/avatars come Monday, 10/17/05...

I'll be sweating this one, until then.

When you're looking to threepeat, when someone doesn't tie a shoe right, folks assume you're "struggling".

That said, USC is a football team, and they can be beaten in any game.

Texas will be deserving of a Rose Bowl berth if they go undefeated, but I think right now winning in South Bend will be more difficult for SC than beating Texas, on what will basically be home turf for them at the Rose Bowl.

I know that Frisco's lines in the pick-em aren't official, but something about that 12 1/2 point spot bothers me.

Last year, Killian lamented the fact that ND was a 21-point dog to 'SC, the largest line against ND in history. Of course, the oddsmakers allot 4-5 points for home field advantage in college football. In light of the fact that last year's game was at the Mausoleum and this year's game is at ND, once home field advantage is accounted for, the line in last year's game is essentially the same as this year's game, give or take a point.

And I don't see the matchup being the same last year as it is this year.

As Van says, while USC continues to dominate all of its opponents in statistics, one's eyes tell a different story. One's eyes see a team that is no longer the juggernaut it once was.

And while ND, at least on paper, probably isn't a whole lot more talented than it was last year (exceptions: improvement in the play of the O-line and wide receivers), the team is much better coached than it was last year, and playing with a sense of controlled urgency and desire that was conspicuously absent from last year's team. This year's team is a Top 10 team going into this game, and rightfully so. Last year's team struggled to stay around the bottom of the Top 25.

This game looks, at a minimum, to be a much closer game than has been the case in previous years, and the disrespect to ND from the oddsmakers is somewhat alarming.

Dunno about that, Terry...

If the spread is only 12 1/2 the oddsmakers are definitely giving ND more credit than most media types...

I sort of expect USC to either lose (or barely win ugly) or to wake up and play a passionate four quarters and win in another demolition. I really don't think ND themselves will have all that much to do with this result. It's going to come down to whether or not USC plays with poise and, more importantly, urgency. If they do, ND's defense will be every bit as helpless as everyody else's.

Also, I want to see how Reggie Bush's health is, since he got hurt last week and missed part of the game. If he's not his usual explosive self, well, there goes one of the main emotional weapons which has destroyed ND in recent years.

Uh, Van, don't we all expect USC will win, win big, or lose? Not many other options out there, are there?

And this is rivalry game where the spread often doesn't reflect a more true disparity between the teams.

Van wrote:Dunno about that, Terry...

If the spread is only 12 1/2 the oddsmakers are definitely giving ND more credit than most media types...

I sort of expect USC to either lose (or barely win ugly) or to wake up and play a passionate four quarters and win in another demolition. I really don't think ND themselves will have all that much to do with this result. It's going to come down to whether or not USC plays with poise and, more importantly, urgency. If they do, ND's defense will be every bit as helpless as everyody else's.

Also, I want to see how Reggie Bush's health is, since he got hurt last week and missed part of the game. If he's not his usual explosive self, well, there goes one of the main emotional weapons which has destroyed ND in recent years.

Heh. Way to go out on a limb there Van.

Here's what I expect. I expect USC to win. I expect that Matt Leinart will have his best game of the year on Saturday.

GreginPG wrote:Here's what I expect. I expect USC to win. I expect that Matt Leinart will have his best game of the year on Saturday.

Exactly. That is how everyone should root for their team, assuming they have good coaching. I fully expect ND to win on Saturday. I will act that way before the game and during the game. If they win, I will act that way after the game. If the lose, I will break some shit, get past it and by Sunday, I will expect to throttle BYU. All of this, namby-pamby, "well we might win if we play a perfect game and they make some mistakes" is for pussies. Fuck that. Notre Dame is going to win. This is what I truly believe, and I will act accordingly.

Killian wrote:

GreginPG wrote:Here's what I expect. I expect USC to win. I expect that Matt Leinart will have his best game of the year on Saturday.

Exactly. That is how everyone should root for their team, assuming they have good coaching. I fully expect ND to win on Saturday. I will act that way before the game and during the game. If they win, I will act that way after the game. If the lose, I will break some shit, get past it and by Sunday, I will expect to throttle BYU. All of this, namby-pamby, "well we might win if we play a perfect game and they make some mistakes" is for pussies. Fuck that. Notre Dame is going to win. This is what I truly believe, and I will act accordingly.

Well put Killian.

As a precaution though, I would start putting away some of your more valuable things around the house that you don't want broken.

GreginPG wrote:As a precaution though, I would start putting away some of your more valuable things around the house that you don't want broken.

Touche.

Luckily for me, I will be at a wedding so if I have to break shit, it's not mine.

Killian wrote:

GreginPG wrote:As a precaution though, I would start putting away some of your more valuable things around the house that you don't want broken.

Touche.

Luckily for me, I will be at a wedding so if I have to break shit, it's not mine.

Actually, that would suck if you have to miss the game.

Me, I'll have to fight with the wife and kids for the living room TV. My kids haven't yet figured out, or at least accepted, that football games run 3 1/2 hours.

Killian wrote:All of this, namby-pamby, "well we might win if we play a perfect game and they make some mistakes" is for pussies. Fuck that. Notre Dame is going to win. This is what I truly believe, and I will act accordingly.

RACK the Frenchie.

My friend already knows that I likely won't be at the ceremony and may be late to the reception. Fuck him, it's his fault he didn't put his foot down and say no fall weddings to his "lovely" bride.

Within the first 3 dates I have with a chick, I make it very well known that Saturday's in the fall are sacred, and that I would never even entertain the thought of having a wedding in the fall. I also let them know that when I get married, I plan on my wife going on the pill from Jan to March, or I start buying Durex. Why Durex? Because fuck the Trojan's.

The real questin is this:

is there a more overrated team than Notre Dame? Who cares about USC's 'struggles' in the first half. ND has played a weak schedule...Pitt? Washington? Purdue? Even Michigan. And they lost to Michigan State. So color me completely unimpressed by this Notre Dame team. It is all hype and history with them. They are going to get kilt.

Dr D, I wasn't trying to go out on any limbs, I was just detailing what I feel. Regardless, yeah, there is a huge amount of ground between a total demolition and a squeaker win (or an outright loss)...

VVV Thanks Killian.

As a precaution though, I would start putting away some of your more valuable things around the house that you don't want broken.

What if I don't have any valuable shit? What if I broke it all during game 5 of the Yankee-Angel series? Oh shit, I'll find something.....what if I throw kids?

Gents, it's been fun. I will be on a plane tomorrow heading back to Chicago for a weekend without kids. Rack me.

I look forward to this matchup and, regardless of how the chips may fall, I'll be back in here on Sunday at some point to talk about it.

Rack Killian and lax for being good sports...but...

FUCK THE FRENCH AND THEIR FATASS COACH

OUT!

PSUFAN wrote:When you're looking to threepeat, when someone doesn't tie a shoe right, folks assume you're "struggling".

That said, USC is a football team, and they can be beaten in any game.

Indeed!

Rack!

Jimmy, have a very safe trip, but please make sure it's the most fucking miserable time ever for 3-4 hours on Saturday. May it rain, snow, freeze, etc......on your ass. Other than that have a good time....................
NOT.

Laxplayer wrote:Jimmy, have a very safe trip, but please make sure it's the most fucking miserable time ever for 3-4 hours on Saturday. May it rain, snow, freeze, etc......on your ass. Other than that have a good time....................
NOT.

^^^ My sentiments exactly.

Damn, Jimmah, wish I was going to the game.

I wish I was going also but I'll be there for Syracuse. On another note I just got an instructional asst in my class and she's a huge ND fan. That's because her nephew is Mike Goolsby.

even with ND's schedule coming in toquestion with the play of some of their opponents as of late the Irish are still ranked 114th in the nation against the pass....114th and they havent exactly played the great passing teams of the nation to earn that ranking, hell even Isaiah Stanbeck threw for over 400 yards on the Irish

...and that's been their achilles heel for the last few years. Their secondary makes heisman trophy winners.

SoCalTrjn wrote:even with ND's schedule coming in toquestion with the play of some of their opponents as of late the Irish are still ranked 114th in the nation against the pass....114th and they havent exactly played the great passing teams of the nation to earn that ranking, hell even Isaiah Stanbeck threw for over 400 yards on the Irish

While Stanbeck did most of his damage in the first half, those numbers are slightly skewed by Pitt and Purdue throwing it all over the field when they were down by 4 TD's. Weis has said in his press confrences, if he gets a lead, he has no problem letting teams take underneath stuff to chew up the clock. His reasoning is that it is still forcing teams to basically be a running team because they are taking 7 yard chunks out of the middle of the field, not getting out of bounds and taking 2 plays to get first downs, and he doesn't mind trading TD drives with teams when he is up by 2 or more scores.

ND's defense is bad, but not as bad as some stats would lead you to believe.

i'm not big on catholics but go irish

sc needs to get punk'd and they'll be the better for it

probably drop from #1 to #3

Well, no, they wouldn't be all the better for it.

What'd benefit them most would be running the table again and winning another national title.