Believe me, I know there is plenty that I should be happy about. Even non-ND folks have pointed this out and rightfully so. This team is ahead of schedule, exceeded our wildest expectations, and has a solid foundation that will keep us a contender for years to come.

There will be plenty of time to examine what this team achieved in 2012. We will have detailed analysis of where we fell short against Alabama and how to improve.

This isn’t one of those posts. This loss hurts too damn much.

The Good Book tells us that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” and right now, this certainly feels like a time to mourn. If we look at the five stages of loss and grief, as a fanbase, we are all over the map. Personally, I’m somewhere between anger and depression — yes, that would be three stages — and I need to vent.

My favorite local sports radio station here in DFW has a great way of starting the healing process after such a loss. When one of our local teams sees their season come to an abrupt end, an audio montage will lead the segment that discusses the demise. So, before I go any further, I pass this bit of audio healing on to you while I reflect on the game.

Hit it, Johnny (via):

Perhaps the biggest punch to the gut isn’t just that Alabama destroyed Notre Dame, but destroyed a Notre Dame team that we all thought was blessed by destiny. Think about it: two goal line stands, a victory using only our backup QB (who didn’t even play to his full potential) for a whole game, and an overtime opposing game-winning field goal that sails wide right.

Against Alabama, everything went wrong.

Alabama scored easily on their first drive. Notre Dame’s offense has their first drive cut short on a questionable incomplete pass ruling (note: I have yet to rewatch the game; however, replays provided in the stadium made it look like a clear reception — even ‘Bama fans around me were shocked). As if that wasn’t enough, Notre Dame gets slapped with a fair catch interference penalty which certainly appeared to be fumble recovered by the Irish. The defense that had created sparks all season was stunned and beaten.

It’s like Lucy allowed Charlie Brown to kick the ball for an entire game, but, when it came time for the game winning field goal, she yanked it away yet again.

On offense, the Irish seemingly abandoned the rushing game that helped get them to this point. While I certainly understand the desire, as well as the need, to stretch Alabama’s defense, the play-calling was simply maddening. It felt like the Irish were simply calling four verts the whole time and hoped for the best. Upon focusing on route running for a drive or two, I saw I wasn’t too far off.

However, even more frustrating was the execution, which inevitably brings me to Everett Golson who definitely played like a redshirt freshman. He continuously made poor reads and had tunnel vision on the boundary go/vertical routes. To top it all off, there were moments of indecision on whether or not to run the ball that cost him dearly.

His night was filled with all kinds of mistakes, but this time there was no magical Pitt-like comeback, nor an appearance of Tommy Rees to save the day. The later doesn’t surprise me too much as placing in the less mobile Rees would’ve been a likely death sentence against the pass rush the Irish saw. However, in the end, ‘Bama dared Golson to beat them and beat them deep. He bit and he lost.

Switching to the other side of the ball, you have a performance that depresses even more. The strength of this Irish faltered; however, they weren’t getting pushed back five yards on every play. Our D-line found themselves in the backfield. Our linebackers filled gaps properly. We had plays stopped behind the line of scrimmage on many occasions…and then everyone bounced off of Eddie Lacy as he was made of rubber.

Or, if you are Danny Spond, unceremoniously slammed to the ground.

While Lacy certainly deserves a load of credit for being a beast, as well as the Alabama line for coaxing D-line penetration away from the plays, there are no words to describe how it feels to watch your Heisman finalist linebacker simply come up short on nearly every solo tackle attempt. However, should I find them, they would also describe the pure terror I felt while watching Amari Cooper run past our DBs as if they were standing still and the sickening feeling in my stomach when I watched simple dump passes turn into easy TDs.

Then you have the punt return game which I can’t even bring myself to talk about. I wish we had simply fair caught everything after watching Davonte Neal add to the “freshmen mistakes” collection.

I watched as something beyond my worst fears unfolded in front of me throughout the entire game. I found myself in a stunned coma of hopelessness that I haven’t felt at a game in a long time. Worse was that I knew there was nothing that the Irish could do about it.

And while Notre Dame struggled mightily, every “Roll Tide” began to eat away at my soul. Every ‘Bama touchdown a punch to the gut. The “S-E-C” chant toward the end of the night practically did me in. Having one of our fans grab a security guard to get Alabama fans to set down sent me in a blind rage.

We came so close to reaching the top of the mountain only to be swatted away, finally allowing all talking heads and ND doubters to be right for the first time all season. We will inevitably hear about how the Irish didn’t belong, how all our victories were overrated, and how the game would’ve been better had anyone else been in it. These comments will inevitably re-open the healing wounds from January 7th and the hurt will rise to the surface again.

However, such pain is fuel and the hurt turns into motivation. The scar left from the 2013 title game will be a reminder of the level that ND needs to reach. It isn’t just some idea anymore, each player saw exactly what it was right in front of them. More young talent will arrive into South Bend and our current young talent will become hardened veterans and they will not rest until they hit that level.

This loss hurt. It will always hurt.

And the Irish will be more than happy to pass that pain along to every future opponent.

The post Hurt appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

All of a sudden, one day I found myself with only three sleeps until I had the chance to watch my alma mater face off against Alabama for the a national championship…in person.

But this trip was more than just a chance to watch the Irish play for the BCS title (the BCS, kids, was quite a hilarious little system we had before the playoff you know now, but that’s another story…). It was chance for me to experience the excellence of Notre Dame football that I had only been able to read about or watch in old highlight films.

You see, kids, my family had no Notre Dame alumni, even of the subway variety; in fact, my family had no alumni association of any kind save for my uncle who attended Stephen F. Austin. It wasn’t until your aunt and I started our college careers that Saturdays became a true day of football importance like they are today in our house.

When I was your age, Sundays were king. The Dallas Cowboys were the only football team that mattered for most of my life. While Notre Dame defeated Florida State in spectacular fashion and later getting hosed out of a title in 1993, I was focused on a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl run. As the Lou Holtz era wound down, our family celebrated two more Super Bowl victories.

Ironically enough, that was pretty much the last high point for both teams for quite a while.

The only knowledge of Notre Dame that I had in my childhood was the movie Rudy. But, kids, most of the pageantry depicted in that movie was lost on me until I actually set foot on campus in 2003. I had no stories of great Notre Dame games or traditions passed down to me. No memories of a trip to South Bend or even of a watching a Notre Dame game on a Saturday afternoon. No deep seeded love for the University like you have.

My Notre Dame football knowledge didn’t start until the spring of 2003. I had made my decision to attend ND and like any good gaming and sports nerd, I purchased the NCAA video game. Thanks to EA Sports, I learned who all our rivals were (I had no idea ND/USC was such a big deal — seriously). I caught up with the recent ND history and was legitimately excited to experience the Ty Willingham era (wait…why are you laughing at me?). The floodgates of Irish football history opened my freshman year and somehow opened even further when I became a manager at the start of the Charlie Weis era.

Sadly, my personal experiences of Notre Dame football were mostly of pain and disappointment. There was a slight two year reprieve in 2005 and 2006 followed by a harsh crash down to earth as my first football season as an alumnus in 2007. No, I will never tell you stories of 2007; in fact, most of us decided to simply erase it from our memories:

Kids, for quite a while, I was certain that those stories of heartache were all I’d be able to tell you. Any other memories of Notre Dame being great would come in the form of second-hand stories from friends or the occasional first-hand account from an older alum. You wouldn’t care about those stories — it’d be like eavesdropping on some other guy telling his story to his family.

Anyways, this trip to Miami changed all that. I was there to watch the Irish return to glory — for real this time. Amongst of sea of Alabama fans and talking heads convinced the SEC would wipe the floor with the Irish, I stood in awe as Notre Dame hoisted the crystal trophy.

And, kids, let me tell you there was no greater joy than watching the stunned faces of die-hard SEC fans.

That’s the true legacy of Notre Dame, kids. Let no one ever tell you that such success is impossible to find these days. We almost gave up hope on it ourselves. Just remember that success through honor is never easy, but the victory at the end of that road is sweeter than any other.

The Roundup

Kids, there also used to be something called the Big East. Boise State pretty much sealed that conference’s fate.

And of course, you know about Manti Te’o. However, I will never be able to leave out Louis Nix III because he was just simply made of awesome.

The students in this video will definitely have some memories to share. The lesson, kids, is that there is power in simplicity.

Kids, I’d suggest behaving. Or Jadeveon Clowney is coming to get you.

Stories of this year’s Orange Bowl won’t be as legen…wait for it…dary. Not just because the Orange Bowl didn’t even want one of the teams there, but mostly because the game was boring and the best highlights were the fan reactions.

The Fiesta Bowl on the other hand… I mean, where would I even start? Would it be the drunken fans, some of which had to literally be carried out of the stadium? Or the legend of the one point safety?

Not sure how the story of Penn State will end. First the state of Pennsylvania decides to sue the NCAA, but later in the week Bill O’Brien decided to forgo the NFL to stay at the sanction-stricken school. Talk about two opposite sides of the coin.

Finally, kids, don’t ever, ever be FIU. Ron Turner. Yes, there was a school that fired Cristobal for this.

Put These Games on Your Radar

There’s only three games left until the one we’ve all been waiting for. There’s only one game that you must stop down for; however, enjoy the football while it lasts.

Friday, January 4

#9 Texas A&M vs #11 Oklahoma – 8:00pm ET, FOX

Saturday, January 5

Pittsburgh vs Ole Miss – 1:00pm ET, ESPN/WatchESPN

Sunday, January 6

#25 Kent State vs Arkansas State – 9:00pm ET, ESPN/WathcESPN

Predictions

NDTex

Raise the trophy: ND 21 – Bama 17

Biscuit

Bayou Irish

ND 24 – Bama 16

Twibby

Notre Dame 24, Alabama 20

Grantland-X

1st quarter: 3-0 Irish
2nd quarter: 10-6 Irish
3rd quarter: 17-9 Irish
4th quarter: 23-16 Irish

…the crystal ball returns to South Bend. MVP: Tyler Eifert – 9 catches, 88 yards, TD.

The Beer

Due to the tropical local of the game and in honor of our favorite Hawaiian, I’m going with a Kona brew, specifically, the Pipeline Porter.

Oh…and you might want to keep some champagne around. You know, just in case…

The post Friday Roundup: The “How I Met Your Alma Mater” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Before we go further, check out Biscuit’s  preseason take on the position

The Irish:

In 2012, in getting to 12-0, Coach Kelly rolled out a multi-faceted offense that featured Theo Riddick, Cierre Wood, George Atkinson, III and Cam McDaniel at RB. The workhorses in that stable, though, were the seniors, Theo and Cierre. Theo ran for 880 yards and 5 TD’s while Cierre put up 740 and 4. Theo, another Jersey phenom, found success in the backfield after playing receiver, fly half and striker. Cierre is leaning towards a move to the NFL after this year, and with a 14 month old daughter to support, who can blame him. The two each had signature games, BYU for Theo and Oklahoma for Cierre, whose stunning sixty yard run announced that the Irish had come to Norman not just to play, but to win. If the Irish are going to do the same to ‘Bama, both will need to turn in huge games.

And it’s going to be tough. Alabama comes into Miami with the best rush defense in the country, giving up just under 80 yards per game. ND has the nation’s fourth-best rush defense, so this game has all the potential of being a “slobber-knocker.” And, just as an FYI, Stanford and BYU have the other “top four” rush defenses, so it’s not like The Irish haven’t tangled with the top before.

The Enemy:If ND if going to win the crystal football, they’re going to have to handle the two thousand-yarders in ‘Bama’s backfield: T.J. Yeldon and Eddie Lacey. As you can see in the video below, that’s going to be very, very hard:

The scary thing is that Yeldon’s a freshman, and while that may put his chances of graduating from Alabama at between slim and none, he’s just going to get better. Having put up 1,000 yards this year, that’s very bad for defenses around the country. His junior stable-mate, Eddie Lacey, broke off 1,182.

This is not to say The Irish haven’t faced and defeated better backs: Le’Veon Bell, Stepfan Taylor, Denard Robinson and Ray Graham come to mind. But it’s rare to have two in the same game, much less on the field at the same time. Looks like Manti and the Boys will have their work cut out for them on the 7th.

Putting football aside, I want to wish all of you and yours the best in 2013. Obviously, I want that to start with a National Championship, but in every way, I hope that the New Year is one of health, tranquility and prosperity in all its forms for you.

The post Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy (The NCG Edition): Running Back appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

At HLS, this now means we start the process of breaking down as much Alabama information as possible for the next month as well as bracing for some newfound SEC visitors that happen to stumble upon us. For now though, less enjoy some reactions from Brian Kelly and the players in celebration of this great moment.

Some highlights from the EPSN show, including an interview with Brian Kelly and Nick Saban, who, much to the dismay of SEC fans I’m sure, compared us to his Alabama squad:

Some of the players react to the news:

And finally, Kelly addresses the media and chats a bit on ND injuries and the future matchup:

Oh, and just in case you still can’t believe this is real, here is the official press release from Notre Dame:

#1 Notre Dame and #2 Alabama to Meet in BCS Championship Game in South Florida

Top-ranked Notre Dame (12-0) will meet second-rated Alabama (12-1) as the top two teams in the final Bowl Championship Series poll square off Jan. 7, 2013, in the Discover BCS National Championship Game at Sun Life Stadium (71,540 capacity) in Miami Gardens, Fla. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST.

For Notre Dame, it’s a first-ever trip to the BCS Championship Game. The Irish previously played in BCS gamesfollowing the 2000 (lost to Oregon State in Fiesta), 2005 (lost to Ohio State in Fiesta) and 2006 seasons (lost to LSU in Sugar).

For Alabama, it’s a second straight trip to the BCS Championship Game (and a third in four years) and the Tide’s fifth overall BCS appearance. Alabama is 2-2 in BCS games—with both its wins coming in championship games (after 2009 season over Texas, after 2011 season over LSU). The Tide also played in BCS games following the 1999 (lost to Michigan in Sugar) and 2008 (lost to Utah in Sugar) seasons.

For Notre Dame, it marks the first time any institution has been ranked number one in the current NCAA Graduation Success Rate football standings (at 97) and also played in the BCS Championship Game.

ESPN will nationally televise the game. ESPN Radio will carry the game nationally. Notre Dame’s IMG Radio Network also will carry the game to a limited number of affiliates.

It’s a matchup of the top two scoring defenses in the country–with Notre Dame ranking number one (allowing 10.33 points per game) and Alabama second (10.69).

It’s Notre Dame’s first appearance in a de-facto championship game since 1988 when the unbeaten andtop-rated Irish defeated third-ranked and unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl to claim their 11^th consensus national title.

This game mirrors the 1973 Sugar Bowl in which top-ranked and unbeaten Alabama lost 24-23 to second-ranked and unbeaten Notre Dame at old Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, La.

For Notre Dame it’s a 32^nd postseason bowl appearance (15-16 record). It’s the third straight season under Brian Kelly the Irish have played in the postseason—following appearances in the 2010 Sun Bowl and the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl.

The Irish have played seven times previously in the Cotton Bowl (following 1969, 1970, 1977, 1978, 1987, 1992 and 1993 seasons), five times in the Orange Bowl (following 1972, 1974, 1989, 1990 and 1995 seasons), four times in the Sugar Bowl (1973, 1980, 1991, 2006), four times in the Fiesta Bowl (1988, 1994, 2000, 2005) and once in the Rose Bowl (1924).

Notre Dame has never played a game in Sun Life Stadium. All five Irish Orange Bowl games (two wins, three losses) were played at the old Orange Bowl Stadium. The Irish also played 13 times (6-6-1 record) at the Orange Bowl Stadium against Miami.

This marks the third time Notre Dame and Alabama have met in bowl games. In addition to that 1973 meeting, the two teams met a year later in the Orange Bowl following the 1974 regular season. The Tide again came in unbeaten at 11-0 and ranked number one, while the Irish were 9-2 and rated eighth (both UPI rankings). Notre Dame won that game 13-11 in Ara Parseghian’s final game as Irish head coach.

Overall, Notre Dame boasts a 5-1 record against Alabama. In addition to the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl wins following the 1973 and 1974 seasons, the Irish defeated the Tide 21-18 in 1976 in Notre Dame Stadium, 7-0 in 1980 at Birmingham’s Legion Field and 37-6 in 1987 in Notre Dame Stadium. Alabama’s only win over Notre Dame came in 1986 (Lou Holtz’s first season at Notre Dame) in a 28-10 victory at Legion Field in Birmingham.

Among connections between the two programs is Alabama director of athletics Mal Moore. He was the Notre Dame running backs coach from 1983-85 under Gerry Faust and also served as Irish assistant head coach in 1984 and 1985.

Both teams receive 17,000 tickets to the BCS Championship Game. There will be no public sale for any of the seats allocated to Notre Dame. A lottery system will be utilized to distribute the tickets to various University constituents. Please visit www.und.com/tickets for more information.

The Irish travel party is expected to arrive in South Florida on Jan. 2.

The post It’s Official: Notre Dame and Alabama in BCS Title Game appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.