Then came February 13th, 2018.

As many of you know on this day, Notre Dame lost their NCAA appeal and was forced to vacate football wins from the 2012 and 2013 season for academic misconduct by a student-trainer. That means, officially, the Irish finish 0-1 in 2012 and 0-4 in 2013. The wins, apparently, did not happen. So I guess my trip to New York to see the Pinstripe Bowl in 2013 did not happen either. Will the NCAA be refunding my money for tickets and travel? I highly doubt it.

I came away from this ruling completely disgusted and essentially feeling perhaps I was done with college sports. A University that shielded and covered up child sexual abuse had their vacated wins restored while a university that self-reported an incident involving cheating among a student-trainer and some football players had wins vacate–are you flipping serious? Oh by the way, another University committed 18 years of academic fraud with essentially fake classes for athletes and received no penalties.

In February of 2018, I was done with the NCAA and maybe college sports for good. I view and still view the NCAA as a bunch of “corrupt, good ol’ boys” profiting off the backs of athletes. No thanks, I’ve had my fill.

But I wasn’t done. I missed Notre Dame.

I saw an injured and depleted men’s basketball team almost fight their way into the NCAA Tournament. I watched a women’s basketball team that had even worse injury luck find their way back into the Final Four and win a national title. Then Cam Morrison happened at 9:23 of overtime in the Big 10 Hockey Championship, giving the Irish a victory over hated Ohio State and a Big 10 Championship in their first year in the conference. Then Jordan Gross happened with 3:36 remaining in the 1st overtime of the NCAA Hockey tournament. The following day, Dylan Malmquist stunned Providence with 27 seconds remaining sending Notre Dame back to the Frozen Four for the second year in a row.

Finally, this past weekend, Notre Dame women’s basketball happened. A team greatly depleted by injury summoned an inner fortitude and toughness that probably only they realized they had and defeated UCONN in overtime on Arike Ogunbowale’s late heroics. As I watched a joyous team dance the Irish Jig with their coach, I went to my computer relive sheer elation of Dylan Malmquist and his hockey teammates from the week before.

Then it hit me all over again those moments are why Notre Dame is great–student-athletes working together for a greater cause.

The NCAA is garbage it is an archaic, poorly run, monstrosity, that I would love to see disbanded. The rest of college fans, administrators, and the media, you can have the NCAA, I’ll have Notre Dame, thank you.

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The Camping World Bowl, ugh.

No offense to Camping World or Iowa State, but I was not excited about the “Bowl Projections” that had Notre Dame headed to Orlando to take on the Cyclones.

In an odd turn of events, Sunday played out in the best possible way for Notre Dame by giving them a New Year’s Day Citrus Bowl match-up with LSU. Sure, I read various tweets on Sunday, “Who Cares”, “Playoffs or Bust”, “Bowls are irrelevant”. My answer to all of those folks is that’s nonsense.

Playing football on New Year’s Day is part of the tradition and fabric of College Football. At a school that embraces tradition, Notre Dame and their fans should be happy to be playing on New Year’s Day.

In the pre-playoff era, how many bowls did Notre Dame play where a National Championship was on the line? Consider the Lou Holtz era, I can count maybe three bowls where a title was in play during Coach Holtz time in South Bend. Did I still watch and root like crazy for Notre Dame in the other bowls, you betcha.

Maybe more importantly, this is a chance for Notre Dame to finish strong something that we have failed to do in recent years. They have a shot to post double-digit victories, own the early part of New Year’s Day, and defeat a marquee SEC team on national television.

Notre Dame also has a chance to put themselves back in the conversation as one of the better teams in the nation this year. The national media has started to laud USC all of the sudden, following their bounce back after their debacle in South Bend. With a win in the Citrus Bowl, Notre Dame will enjoy some of the same commentary.

Is January 1st meaningless? Well, if fans think a chance to finish 10-3, sneak yourself into the Top 10, and build early momentum for next season is meaningless then perhaps they should find a new team.

The post Notre Dame and the Citrus Bowl…Heck Yeah! appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Notre Dame fans everywhere were putting yoga mats on their Christmas lists. #33Trucking was talking about delivering a Heisman. Mike Elko was lauded as genius.

But now, with a November, that at least from my standpoint, came out of nowhere, the Irish stand at 9-3.

Instead of playoff reservations, questions are swirling among the Notre Dame faithful. I have to be honest, I had my share of negative comments Saturday like “Brian Kelly…at 9-3. Seen this movie.” and “Another big ND meltdown.”

Fortunately, some much-needed rest has altered my perspective. Even if the Notre Dame administration thought about making change, could we guarantee it would be any better? Remember, the Michigan “Dream Hire” Jim Harbaugh? Michigan will finish the regular season unranked and he is exactly 0-3 against his biggest rival Ohio State. He also has yet to reach a Big 10 Championship game.

So if you are going that route, who are you going to bring in? Further, consider a winning the upcoming bowl game will give Brian Kelly his 3rd season of 10 or more victories.

For me at least, what makes this ending so frustrating is I can’t and likely will never be able to figure out how it happened. We don’t have the advantage of being at practice everyday. We don’t see the day-to-day preparation.

I heard various talking heads weigh in. Notre Dame was too predictable vs. Miami. Miami Head Coach, Mark Richt, even took a subtle swipe at the Irish by admitting as much. Ok, yeah I get it. People knew Notre Dame was going to run the ball. Too predictable, blah, blah, blah.

Funny…I wonder if USC knew the Irish would run it a bunch? Sure didn’t seem to matter in that game.

There seemingly weren’t any major injuries. Sure the Irish had some guys banged up, but everyone does by the time you get to November.

I refuse to believe the standard reply of “the Coaches didn’t have them ready”. After charging to an 8-1 start and having your team ready to play, the coaches just mailed in November? I don’t think so.

If there is any answer to me it is the schedule. The Irish banged heads with 10 teams that will be playing in bowl games this post-season. If anything, Notre Dame seemed physically and maybe mentally sapped down the stretch.

I’m going to say this now, and I’ve suggested this before, you cannot play this schedule in this day and age and consistently go 11-1 or 12-0. This type of schedule leaves exactly no margin for error and no breathing room.

Look at next year: Michigan, Stanford, at Virginia Tech, Pitt, at Northwestern, Florida State, and at USC. That doesn’t even include the yearly match-up with Navy.

I know people will blow me up…..”Duh, we’ve always played a tough schedule”. Yes, and people used to use outhouses too, so what. Play a tough schedule not one that borders on ridiculous. Otherwise, we all better start viewing 9-3 finishes differently.

The post Looking for Answers in Another November Meltdown appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Unfortunately, the loss to Miami the previous week and the conditions seemed to sap some of the electricity from my vantage point that usually surrounds Senior Day at Notre Dame. I mentioned as much to a fellow fan as I enjoyed a pregame beverage. His response, “Well dude, I guess you don’t understand midwestern football weather.” I got a little chuckle and smiled inside, thinking about my four years of playing football in the midwest at tiny Beloit College.

Senior Day likely ran the gamut of emotions for Notre Dame football players as I remember it did for my teammates–sadness, regret, relief, pride, accomplishment being just a few. Senior Day is different in football than any other sport because of its finality. If you are a basketball player, there are competitive men’s leagues to join if interested. The same holds true for almost any other sport except football.

Are there a few semi-pro Leagues? Yes, but they do not come anywhere close to the closeness of a college or even a high level high school program. Among the 26 seniors who made the walk to the stadium and charged through the tunnel for the final time were stars like McGlichey, Nelson, and Tranquill along with mainstays like Martini, Morgan, and Smythe, to name a few. However, whatever role they played individually, all of them were instrumental in turning around the nightmare that was 2016.

With one game left, there is work yet to do; however, this group has positioned themselves for a major bowl game that not even the most optimistic fans would have predicted during the pre-season. So, while lousy weather may have been the story for Saturday, years from now, a win over Navy and cherished memories with teammates and family will define Senior Day for the 2017 Irish.

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Saturday night featured a highly touted offensive line that couldn’t move the line of scrimmage and was referred to as “slow” throughout the broadcast by a seemingly delighted Kirk Herbstreit. Defensively, the Irish also appeared to be a step behind the Hurricanes. Miami controlled clock, ran the ball at will, and were very efficient in the passing game. The only area they had any difficulty was on 3rd down as they went just 2/13 however, they easily atoned for that by going 3/3 on 4th down.

The larger thought or question now is where does Notre Dame go from here? In another column a few weeks ago, I wondered was it better to go to a playoff game and get drilled or finish the season out of the mix but playing in a quality bowl game. My thought was that it would be better to finish the season strong and win a big bowl game against a quality opponent. Several people did not agree.

It is a question the Irish will not have to answer now.

A more important question for this week is can the Irish finish the season strong? Did Notre Dame peak really early, like say during USC week?

The buzzards will be circling this week not only from the Notre Dame haters of the world but from the fan base as well. Saturday night, Notre Dame fans on twitter were exiting the bandwagon quicker than those seeking lifeboats on the Titanic. Post-game analysis and articles today have questioned play calling, quarterback play, Kelly, etc.

To me, that is somewhat mind boggling.

The offense is allegedly predictable and Brandon Wimbush suddenly isn’t the answer at quarterback? Comments and analysis like this are totally useless in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. Anyone that truly follows and analyzes Notre Dame knew this team had flaws. Two in particular were inexperience at the quarterback position and a defense that needed a complete rebuild. Both of those flaws were readily exposed on Saturday night.

The sense of loss is real because the Irish had so much in front of them. With two games and a bowl game remaining, the Irish need to regroup quickly as there is still a great deal for them to play for. Capping the season with two wins and bowl victory puts a great ribbon on a comeback season and keeps them on schedule for a rebuild that is apparently going to take longer than we had hoped.

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Are you kidding me?! The Irish put up 710 yards and 48 points against a team that will very likely be playing in a bowl game this season. Notre Dame’s backup quarterback, Ian Book, was 8-8 with a touchdown. They only punted twice. The game was 48-23 in the 4th quarter before Wake added a couple of late touchdowns in garbage time.

Anyone that understands football knew Wake would play until the end. This was a team playing against a former coach, Mike Elko, who jilted them for a “better job”.

This game was never in doubt people. Move along to Miami. There is nothing to see here.

(Now, if you are in Columbus or Unhappy Valley, that is an entirely different matter.)

All that being said, another win affords the Irish nothing. As dominating as they were on Saturday, it in no way assures them of victory at Miami.

We will hear all week about Catholics vs. Convicts, the history of the series, etc. I love it. I’ll probably watch the 30 for 30 for the 100th time this week in anticipation.

The truth is that all of that talk means nothing as well. Both teams bear little resemblance to the teams that represented Notre Dame and Miami during that era.

This is especially true for the Hurricanes. Miami has not compiled a ten win season since 2003, although they are on track to do so this year. But in the 1980s, Miami stood at the pinnacle of college football. Now, they, like Notre Dame, are trying to fight their way back to top.

So throw all the nostalgia and hoopla out the window. The things that really matter, and will define Saturday, and likely Notre Dame’s season, are on the stat sheet,

Notre Dame’s 5th ranked rushing offense will face the 67th ranked Miami rushing defense in Miami. Miami was very stout on Saturday night against a Virginia Tech running game that is ranked just 58th. Will the Irish run the ball effectively against such a unit?

Defensively, Miami ranks 42nd in total defense, just slightly higher than Notre Dame who ranks 50th. Miami is also ranked slightly higher in scoring defense at 11th versus the Irish who sit at 17th. Which defense will carry the day?

Neither team has given up a ton of points and both are almost identical in turnover margin. Obviously, Miami has a huge advantage playing at home;  however, I would be much more concerned if the Orange Bowl was still standing and the game was being played there.

For me, this game hinges on the quarterbacks for both teams. Both Malik Rosier and Brandon Wimbush have played well. Based off of stats alone, Rosier has thrown the ball better while Wimbush has been the better runner. You can throw every thing else out of the mix in my opinion.

The quarterback who plays better Saturday Night will lead his team to victory. Wimbush is surging and could very well make his own Heisman claim on Saturday Night, authoring the type of “marquee win” that all truly great quarterbacks in Notre Dame history have on their resume. Personally, I like Brandon Wimbush’s chances of etching his name into Notre Dame lore on Saturday Night.

The post Much Ado About Nothing appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

As I settled in for Notre Dame’s game vs. N.C. State, I had a definite feeling of trepidation. The Irish were coming off a huge win, while the Wolfpack had extra rest and preparation time in the form of a bye, often a very bad combination.

The game could not have started worse for Notre Dame either, as a special teams gaffe staked N.C. State to an early 7-0 lead. However, the Irish quickly asserted dominance by way of their running game, which helped the Irish out-gain N.C. State in total yards 422-263 and control the clock.

The Irish defense was smothering, limiting N.C. State to just 50 yards on the ground and also contributing a Julian Love interception return for a touchdown. With the game firmly in hand, I found myself doing something I almost never do, which is switching between games. Bouncing from TCU vs. Iowa State, Notre Dame, and seeing Penn State vomiting away a huge lead at Ohio State, I was reminded of the chaos of college football.

So what does this mean? Notre Dame better be ready for Wake Forest or they could meet a similar fate. Wake Forest now becomes the proverbial trap game. Notre Dame at home versus a team they should beat, but with distractions abound. The playoff rankings will come out today and the talking heads have long started as I suggested they would in my last article.

It started on Saturday with Doug Flutie’s claim that “This game turned on two plays.” Sure I’ll buy that Doug, as long as one of the plays included is the Wolfpack bus making the turn onto Moose Krause Circle.

The Irish dominated N.C. State by whatever standard one chooses to look at. Nevertheless, the first playoff rankings might well feature Clemson, Ohio State, and Wisconsin all ranked ahead of Notre Dame. Those rankings present a potentially huge distraction. Worse than the rankings, the Irish will have to prevent looking ahead to perhaps a season defining match-up on November 11th at currently undefeated Miami.

Rankings and future games aside, the Irish control their own fate now. Avoid distractions and keep your focus squarely on this week’s target otherwise the Irish will disappear from the playoff rankings faster than the Penn State lead did at Ohio State.

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You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose. -Lou Holtz

In the aftermath of Saturday Night’s beat down of #11 ranked USC, I lingered in the stadium longer than I ever have at a Notre Dame football game. Part of the reason was a reunion between myself and my best friend from parochial school who I had not seen in roughly thirty years. The other reason is that I was quite honestly shocked, but a good shocked and I didn’t want the feeling to end.

A few minutes after I left, I met up with a colleague from HLS, George Bashura, and even in our short conversation I didn’t quite know what to feel. I believe I used the word numb to describe how I felt. After a ten-hour car drive and tons of time to think, I’ve arrived at some thoughts and conclusions from what I witnessed this past weekend.

Were there any signs pointing to this performance? Looking back, I know a couple of things that will stick with me from this past-Saturday. First, I’ve been to a good number of Notre Dame games at this point in my life. Some of them were even big games (Lou Holtz’s last game comes to mind); however, that game was the most electric I’ve ever seen the campus on a football Saturday.

There was a different feel than other game I’ve been too(much different from the 2015 USC game which I also attended). A little magic, if you will. Was it the 1977 National Champions being back on campus? The urgency of what was basically a playoff elimination game? Or a little of both? Who knows.

Secondly, Lou Holtz often remarked on the dangers of false confidence. As I paid special attention to the player walk Saturday, there was a look about the Irish, some were firing fans up, some had quiet focus, but collectively they had a look. Thinking about it on my drive home Sunday, they likely knew already what was about to happen.

Finally, Notre Dame had a definite home field advantage on Saturday. There was some maroon (or whatever they call that hideous red) in the stands, but it didn’t matter. The fans filled their seats early and were extremely loud. At one point my friend, FSU grad who has been to games throughout the ACC and even SEC home games, even remarked, “Is it always this loud in here?” The crowd was a factor on Saturday Night.

So what now? Brian Kelly often talks about “ignoring the noise.” He could not be more right at this point and quite frankly he should have that message sewn into their practice jerseys as this team moves forward.

I was glad I stuck around to hear Kathryn Tappen interview Mike McGlinchey. His focus was dead on, “We just have to keep the message and the eyes forward, and as best as we can do that, good things will happen.”

It will likely be just as important to block out the “good noise” too, which will be everyone and their grandmother telling them how great they are this week. It has already started: will an 11-1 Notre Dame team make the playoff?

I say at this point who cares. Get to 11-1 and then we’ll talk.

The time when you start looking ahead is when you get whacked. Let the talking heads out there like Kirk Herbstreit, Paul Finebaum, and Tim Brando, pontificate about how good or bad Notre Dame is. The story this week will be that USC isn’t very good and Sam Darnold is hurt. Get used to five weeks of blithering buffoons criticizing you, ignore it, and just keep winning.

Anyone with a brain that has ever watched football can tell this is a good football team. The Irish thus far have matched a punishing ground attack with a fundamentally sound defense that tackles extremely well. The final ledger and history will ultimately determine whether the needle should be moved from good to great.

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A weekend that saw four Top 10 teams go down underscores the feeling that the race for the playoffs is wide open. Some of that race will be decided in South Bend this weekend as #13 Notre Dame will take on #11 USC. The loser of this tilt will essentially be eliminated from the playoff race, making this the highest stakes Notre Dame vs. USC game since the “Bush Push”.

Notre Dame and USC regardless of records has always taken on special meaning. This year, I’m happy to say I will be on campus for what looks like a beauty. As I’m counting down the days until Saturday, I thought about my favorite USC games from yesteryear and settled on the three gems below. Now, you might notice that all of these games occured after 1980, before you blow me up in the comments, I decided to start there as that was the time when I fell hard for Notre Dame as a six year old.

#3: 1986 Notre Dame 38, USC 37 – “The Start of Something Big”

Notre Dame was only 4-6 while USC was 7-3 and ranked #17. But if there was such a thing as a good 4-6, it was this Notre Dame team: a one point loss to #3 Michigan, a dropped ball late prevented a giant upset against #1 Penn State, and a two point loss against #8 LSU. While each loss was frustrating, it seemed to indicate better days were ahead. Despite their record under 1st year Head Coach Lou Holtz, the Irish were proving to be an extremely tough out against good opponents.

In this tilt, the Trojans held a 37-20 lead in the fourth quarter with the Irish looking as if they finally run out of gas. What followed was a scintillating 18 point outburst that was capped by a John Carney field goal as time expired.

#2: 2010 Notre Dame 20, USC 16 – “Finally”

Notre Dame was in year one of another rebuild. This time under first year Head Coach Brian Kelly.

The Irish would race to a 13-3 lead only to see USC back-up quarterback Mitch Mustain stake the Trojans to a late lead 16-13.  Robert Hughes,, however, would put Notre Dame ahead for good with 2:23 remaining on a five yard touchdown run.

The defining moment of the game would come with 1:17 remaining when USC wide receiver Ronald Johnson dropped an easy and likely game winning touchdown. This was only the 9th time in history this game was played when neither team was ranked. However, it makes my list simply because it ended the horrific USC domination over Notre Dame and Ronald Johnson’s gaffe likely brought emotional trauma to USC fans everywhere.

#1: 2012 Notre Dame 22, USC 13 – “Notre Dame is #1 Again”

I can already hear the complaints now: If 1980 was the cutoff, what about the #1 vs. #2 matchup? What about 1989 with a fight in the tunnel and a huge comeback win by Notre Dame 28-24?

Simply put, in 1988, I was too young to appreciate what that game meant. When 1989 rolled around, I, as a young lad, saw that Notre Dame was winning all the time and took moments like that for granted. But by 2012, I had been through the end of the Dr. Lou’s run, Davie, O’Leary, Willingham, Weis, and the start of the BK era. After seeing some horrific stretches of ND football, I honestly wondered if we ever going to rise to the top again.

2012 was like a genie coming out of a bottle to grant every Notre Dame their every wish for 12 straight weeks. Those 12 weeks were improbable, dramatic and had the stuff of a Hollywood drama week in and week out. Adding to the drama was that the grande finale to the undefeated season required the Irish to win on the road against USC.

By the way Lane Kiffin, that white sweat suit was as abysmal as your goal line offense.

The post Three (Modern) Classics for USC Week appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

USC will come to South Bend on October 21st, beginning a stretch of season defining games. Being rested and fresh will be critical in order for the Irish to finish the season strong. Looking at the final six games, only Wake Forest at home has the potential to be a “lock” for victory.

That being said, I also do not believe any of those games are beyond the reach of the Irish.

In what has been a fantastic start, I must admit that the Irish are playing beyond what I initially expected this season. Not so much because of what Notre Dame has done, but rather how they have done it. I knew, as did most of the free world, that the defense under Brian Van Gorder was awful last season; however, I had no clue that Mike Elko could address the problems on the defense as quickly as he has.

I had hoped the Notre Dame running game would be better this season (personally, I thought they underachieved last year). However, I did not for a second predict the dominance that they have shown in the first half of the season.

So what happens from here? I’ve seen projections everywhere from from the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Northwestern to the Citrus vs. Kentucky (Orlando is always nice in the winter) and even the Sun Bowl vs. Washington State, which would be one heck of a intriguing match-up vs. Mike Leach and his Air Raid attack. During Saturday’s broadcast, I even heard the dreaded word “playoff” mentioned. At this stage, I’m not sure I want that.

Is it a good thing for Notre Dame to surge to an 11-1 finish, find their way into a #4 playoff seed, and meet up with the likes of Alabama? My lingering emotions from the 2012 season give me pause. After the Alabama dismantling in the National Championship game, I felt the season was a bust. A playoff appearance would come with a ton of hype, but, if the Irish come up short, it fear an offseason of “Notre Dame didn’t belong there” or “Notre Dame is never going to be truly back”.

With Notre Dame building some really good momentum thus far, this potential scenario becomes rather interesting: Would it be better for Notre Dame to cap an 11-1 or 10-2 with a resounding win in a good bowl vs. a good opponent or make the playoff regardless of the outcome?

I honestly don’t know that answer. What I do know is that I sure as heck would like to have the choice. If the Irish continue to run the ball like they have, stay healthy, and keep playing defense as they have in the first half of the season, we just may have the good fortune to find out.

The post I’ll Bye That: Notre Dame’s on a Roll appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.