T1B

Now that I've had a chance to recover from the game yesterday and adrenalin levels have returned to near normal...

First, props to Killian and the other Irish fans in here. (I guess that might include you Lax). :wink: The game was a battle and I can only imagine what I would feel like if my team had come up just short like that. I know it won't make you feel any better, but hold your heads high and be proud of the way your team played yesterday. They played like a champion. Unfortunately for you, so did USC.

I wasn't able to get a hold of Jimmy yesterday after the game but he did message me from the airport this morning and wanted to be sure I passed along his props to you as well, Killian. He said that ND was all class, as usual. He will try to post later today.

Props to Notre Dame. They played exactly like they needed to yesterday. Their game plan was executed to near perfection, controlling the ball while keeping the Trojan D off-balance and keeping the Trojan O off the field. They also took advantage of Trojan turnovers and penalties as well.

What a great fucking game overall. These two teams stood toe-to-toe and hit each other in the mouth all day long. Three plays stand out in my mind as being ones that maybe, just maybe the game would turn in the Trojans favor in the 2nd half. The missed field goal by Notre Dame, the pass that Brady overthrew to his open receiver in the flat and the obvious one, the 4th and 9 pass to Jarrett from the 26 that broke for 61 yards on the last drive. I still don't know how that pass was completed.

Thank God for Reggie Bush. Dude may have pushed himself right up to the head of the Heisman race with his performance yesterday. Personally though, I could not care less about the Heisman. I'll take another MNC. USC is halfway through their schedule somehow unscathed with 4 of their first 6 games on the road and another road game next week. The season is far from over and I think SC can still be beaten. I like our chances a little better now. I'm just glad South Bend is in the rear-view mirror.

^^what he said^^

You just have to admire Notre Dame.

What an atmosphere.

First of all, I'd like to say fuck you for your tongue in cheek props......they're not my team, I just root for them. My life will go on because I got laid twice yesterday, but on another note, it's great to see this rivalry back where it should be. Very soon these two teams will be battling for #'s 1 and 2. I think one huge play was when Bing caused the fumble from behind on (I think) Fasano. They were about to score another TD and bam turnover. Great game but I'm over it and moving on to next week. The ND program is on the rise, Weis is for real, not it will be interesting to see how this helps recruiting. Both Jimmy Claussen and Mark Tyler were guests of ND yesterday so we'll see what transpires over the next few months.
Oh, congrats.

So you did the nasty twice yesterday huh Lax? Don't worry we won't tell your wife.

Laxplayer wrote:First of all, I'd like to say fuck you for your tongue in cheek props......they're not my team, I just root for them. My life will go on because I got laid twice yesterday, but on another note, it's great to see this rivalry back where it should be. Very soon these two teams will be battling for #'s 1 and 2. I think one huge play was when Bing caused the fumble from behind on (I think) Fasano. They were about to score another TD and bam turnover. Great game but I'm over it and moving on to next week. The ND program is on the rise, Weis is for real, not it will be interesting to see how this helps recruiting. Both Jimmy Claussen and Mark Tyler were guests of ND yesterday so we'll see what transpires over the next few months.
Oh, congrats.

So what you're saying is that Notre Dame is just one of the 11 teams you root for during the year??? Gotcha. :wink:

So what you're saying is that Notre Dame is just one of the 11 teams you root for during the year??? Gotcha. Wink

Well I root for them all year long, along with those other 10 teams that play SC. No, please don't tell the wife. She may actually think it was me.

Nolesy wrote:So you did the nasty twice yesterday huh Lax? Don't worry we won't tell your wife.

meds is missing - exhaustion?

So it was Jimmy sneaking out the back door last night? Dammit, and I thought he was at the game.

Wow. What can I say that hasn't already been said. That was a great fucking game. Everything set up to be a Notre Dame moment, but Leinart made a perfect fucking throw. That said, I think if Ambrose Wooden turned his head half a second sooner, he would have knocked that pass down.

Each team took the other's best shot and ND didn't back down from USC. Their defense, was awesome. You can't account for Reggie Bush. He is, by far, the most dangerous player in college football. If he doesn't win the Heisman this year, they should stop giving the award. He won't lead his team in rushing or receiving, but he is USC's best player.

This game, I think, finally put to rest the argument that ND is overrated and they have little talent. While USC was clearly the more talented team, ND's players are very, very good.

There will be no bitching from me about any calls, spots, etc. That was just a damn good football game. My buddy, who was there, said that the game was the most electric he has ever seen ND. He went there through Davie's 5 year error, and nothing approached that under Willingham. He said that when Zibby took that punt to the house, he thought the place was going to fall down. Here are my thoughts on USC:

-While I may not like Carroll, he has some huge, brass balls. That guy is perfect for USC and I hope he doesn't leave anytime soon. If he doesn't, these next few years are going to be fucking spectacular games.

-Like I said above, Reggie Bush is the best player in college football, end of debate.

-Matt Leinart is nails. Nothing but respect for that kid as a player.

-Keith Rivers is going to be a fucking stud. That guy runs like a fucking DB.

Notre Dame silenced a lot of critics, but I agree with Weis. There are no moral victories. I knew that this team had the talent to compete now. I said before the season that this team should be no worse than 8-3. Well, now 9-2 with a shot at the BCS looks like a distinct possibility. And while there are no moral victories, there were a few things that stood out about this game that have me excited for the future:

-Charlie Weis is one of the top coaches in college football, right now. While I'm not going to rank him, there isn't a coach in america I would rather have. He is going to be at ND for a long time, and he has every opportunity to build a monster.

-Brady Quinn has gone from an average college QB, to one of the best in America, because of Weis. Quinn will enter next year as the Heisman front runner and will leave ND owning every ND passing record known to man, and he will be a top 5 pick. I may be biased, but he looked like the best QB on the field on Saturday. He came of age infront of a nationally televised audience.

I was worried when I saw ND come out in the Green. But the worry was because idiots pulled them out at the wrong times. Ga Tech, Fredo, etc. Weis knew what he was doing. And rack him for basically telling the NBC guy to fuck off when he asked him why he went to the green jerseys. As long as Weis keeps ND playing like this, he could put them in pink for all I care.

Good game Trojans. Congrats Jimmy, Greg, Socal, and anyone else I missed. You guys have a great team, good luck the rest of the way. See you next year at SC.

now THAT is how you represent. Rack

Congrats to Killian. Great post, great fan, great team.

Weis? Fantastic coach. I just don't know that his weight and his age will allow him to have the stamina to do this at this level for too very long, which is a shame for CF.

Dude could up and keel over any day now, and even if he doesn't the rigorous demands of building and maintaining a resurgent ND program are nearly beyond comprehension. ND deserves (and requires) better than to have Rick Majerus trolling their sidelines.

Charlie, for your own good, look at your opposing coach, and your former head coach: Carroll, and Belichick.

:cue the "mix in a salad" take:

Brady Quinn will be a Hesiman front runner next year...as long as Reggie Bush comes out early. Remember people, dude's still not a senior.

Basically agree with most everything Killian said, with just a few exceptions.

Killian wrote:-Brady Quinn has gone from an average college QB, to one of the best in America, because of Weis. Quinn will enter next year as the Heisman front runner and will leave ND owning every ND passing record known to man, and he will be a top 5 pick. I may be biased, but he looked like the best QB on the field on Saturday. He came of age infront of a nationally televised audience.

And maybe I'm biased here, but I don't think we saw anything remotely approaching the best Brady Quinn has to offer on Saturday. He had a rough start, although he did pick up the slack quite nicely, for the most part, later in the game when 'SC for the most part shut down our running game. There's still a bit of a consistency problem, unfortunately, and he absolutely has to hit Schwapp on that third down play. Had he done that, the game might have been different, but you can look at a half dozen or so plays and the game might have turned on any one of them.

Having said all of that, I think it's clear that USC has a much better defense than their critics have given them credit for having. For that matter, I'll go ahead at this point and say so do we.

Notre Dame silenced a lot of critics, but I agree with Weis. There are no moral victories. I knew that this team had the talent to compete now. I said before the season that this team should be no worse than 8-3. Well, now 9-2 with a shot at the BCS looks like a distinct possibility.

I was looking at 8-3 going into the season as well. I think we'll go 9-2 now, although in fairness, it appears that there are five teams on the schedule this year (Pitt, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee and Syracuse) who are nowhere near as good as advertised going into the season.

BCS? There's always a shot when you're 9-2, but I think coming into the regular season unranked will prove to be our undoing. Too much ground to make up. More realistically, I'm looking at either the Cotton Bowl or the Gator Bowl this year. But for next year, a BCS bid should be our minimum goal. I really think this team can contend for a national championship next year, particularly if McKnight can rehab his knee and get a fifth year.

In all honesty, who really cares whether or not ND gets into some forgettable BCS bowl this season?

No matter what else happens this season ND's 2005 season will be remembered as the year in which Weis brought Notre Dame back to national prominence and no matter what ND does come bowl season 2005 will always be remembered as the year in which ND fought one one of the greatest battles in recent CF history when they played the game of the year against USC.

ND's glorious 2005 legacy is already cast in stone. The rest is all gravy from here on out.

Van wrote:In all honesty, who really cares whether or not ND gets into some forgettable BCS bowl this season?

I get your point, but actually, most ND fans care for one reason and one reason alone: money.

A BCS bid means $13 million to ND. A Gator or Cotton Bowl bid means, I dunno, $2 million or so. That's a pretty big difference, and the latter payout doesn't do much more than cover the expenses of the trip.

And let's not forget that ND doesn't play in a conference, and therefore, doesn't share in the bowl revenue of other conference members, unlike just about every other team in 1-A.

To make matters worse, this is the last year of the current deal. Beginning next year, a BCS bowl bid will only pay out $4.5 million to ND.