Entitled Irish

I have a friend (at least I consider him a friend) at the University of Football in America in South Bend, Indiana. He's my source for Fighting Irish football news and he claims that since the loss to Michigan early in the season, students have been analyzing what needs to happen to get Notre Dame into a title game come January. He thinks it's foolish and a waste of time because the fact remains that Notre Dame isn't playing well. If Ohio State beats Michigan and the Wolverines end the season with one loss, would you put ND in the title game over Michigan? Seems absurd because Michigan clobbered the Irish in South Bend this year.

Charlie Weis may have a point in complaining about the Irish being jumped in polls when they won. Maybe he doesn't. Personally, I think Florida got robbed in the Auburn loss. My main argument is "who cares?" Why are preliminary BCS standings released? The BCS doesn't mean anything until the end of the season. Might BCS standings affect future votes in polls by some voters? That doesn't seem like a good situation.

ND is 6-1. They lost to Michigan. They have wins over BCS conference teams Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan State, Purdue, Stanford, and UCLA. They still have UNC, Army, Navy, and Air Force. Those should be wins for the Irish. And, they have the big game with USC. If they beat USC, they might have a claim for a BCS game. If they don't, they lack any really significant wins - with Georgia Tech being the best team the Irish have beaten. Plus, if they are blown out, they won't have come close in their two marquee games. Notre Dame is a solid team, but there are a bunch of solid teams out there. They're in a pack with numerous 1-loss teams and a few 2-loss teams. We still have over a month to figure out who's who on the college football landscape this year and it's too early for Charlie Weis to be complaining about losing ground after another shaky win.

Despite the ND struggles this year, if the Irish finish the year 11-1 they will have a claim to a BCS bowl. The title game? Probably not, unless they dismantle USC and a few other things happen. ND always plays a tough schedule with a couple blockbusters. They play teams from across the nation. This year, it's been a lot of ACC, Pac-10 and Big 10 teams. However, the previous two years they played Pittsburgh (Big East) and Tennessee (SEC). Notre Dame doesn't have any conference games so they have to play big names and I think they could add a couple more per season. Losses to Michigan and USC won't be damning, but it's hard to prop yourself up when your big win is Georgia Tech.