After a “long as fuck” bye week, the IBG is back son!
It’s USC week, and even though we could just answer EVERYTHING this week with “FUSC” or “Burn Troy, Burn,” we still have a job to do. This weeks IBG is brought to us by Domer Law.
So let’s IBG this bitch:
1. I’m taking an old friend of mine to the USC game. They were born and raised in South Bend near Notre Dame, and developed a dislike for the University at a young age from dealing with the frustrations and messes that come from Notre Dame home football weekends. She’s never been to a Notre Dame game before (she’s an Ohio State fan). We’re going to go tailgate and do all the usual tailgating stuff. Any suggestions on what I could do to help her let go of her animosity towards Notre Dame?
The best suggestion I can give is also the plotline to the best television show in history. Nothing. Nothing? NOTHING! One of the truest things that I have found in life is that if you hate Notre Dame- only a miracle from above can change their mind. Otherwise, you will find yourself frustrated, and eventually in your zeal, you may turn into Ultimo Fan-Boy.
Haters gonna hate.
2. On a related note, do you have any suggestions for improving the Notre Dame game weekend experience generally? Are there traditions lost that you’d like to see restored, or new ideas that you’d like to see implemented to improve the gameday experience?
They could drop the whole “Disneyland of College Football” thing- but that’s a pipe dream. I do have a couple of suggestions for this Saturday…
- Light the walk from TD Jesus to the Stadium with torches. Like Frankenstein/Mummy torches.
- Have a bagpiper and drummer located at every “hotspot” on campus. The Grotto, Basilica, TD Jesus, at every gate into the stadium… you get the point.
- Let a playa, play. The whole usher thing is out of control.
- Jumbotron. Oodles and oodles of jumbotron.
3. (a) USC is (and always will be) our biggest rival. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? And if you agree, why do you feel that this is such an important rivalry? (b) Rank your top 10 college football rivalries and provide justifications for each.
Absolutely. There is no other rivalry in the country that represents so much “not in common.” I love it. The dominance of these two programs for over 80 years has made this matchup unique and highly anticipated each year- even when one of the schools is down.
Sorry, I will give you no justifications- just a top 10. That stuff is private man (and I’m running short of time).
- Michigan / Ohio State
- Notre Dame / USC
- Alabama / Auburn
- Texas / Oklahoma
- Florida State / Miami
- Oregon / Oregon St.
- Florida / Georgia
- West Virginia / Pitt
- Stanford / Cal
- Clemson / South Carolina
OK, one note: I purposefully kept Navy / Army off of the list. Relevant? Quit fooling yourself.
4. Southern Cal is 5-1, with their only loss on the road at Arizona State. They are unranked, sitting right behind us in the “also receiving votes” category. How good is Southern Cal this year? How do you see this game playing out?
Let’s put it this way… USC almost lost to Minnesota- IN LOS ANGELES! That doesn’t define a season, but it definitely shows this is not a very good team. They do some things well on offense, but they still struggle with Monte Kiffins defense.
Notre Dame puts a ton of pressure on Barkley, and he is unable to get into any tpe of rhythem although they will get a big play or two. They will not be able to run on our defense, end of story.
Irish win: 38-24 giving up a late TD.
5. It appears that with a win over USC, we’ll re-enter the Top 25 rankings. Now that we’re halfway through the season and have some actual evidence available to us from real games, how do you see the rest of the season playing out? Predict:
- (a) Notre Dame’s final record (indicating where we will lose if at all): 10-2
- (b) Notre Dame’s bowl destination, opponent and outcome.: Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama. Irish win 20-17
- (c) The BCS Championship game and result.:LSU vs. Oklahoma. Stoops eats a hat- Miles wins another title.
- (d) Notre Dame’s final AP ranking.: #4
- (e) The winners of the major awards, including:
Heisman: Trent Richardson
Home Depot Coach of the Year: Dabo Sweeney
Davey O’Brian: Andrew Luck
Doak Walker: Trent Richardson
Biletnikoff: TY Hilton
Bednarik: Honey Badger
