Welcome to the Irish Blogger Gathering on Subway Domer. This week, I had the chance to ask Keith Arnold from Inside The Irish a few things with one of them being tied somewhat to the title of this post.
Be Sure to check out Strong & True for Your Pharoah's answers & take a looksy over at Her Loyal Sons to complete the experience.
Let's move this along…
I think FAR too much is being made of the history of this game. I understand the significance and fully respect the past, but these are two completely different programs since the late eighties and early nineties. Tell me why I'm wrong or right.
You're not wrong. But then again, I don't hear that much being made about the renewal of "Catholics vs. Convicts." I'm guessing that angle got used up during the Sun Bowl match-up, though I have noticed some Miami media members reaching out to guys like Thrill Hill.
That said, I'm all for embracing this a little bit, too. It's fun and a great use of the Shamrock Series game and I've gotta believe there will be a nice atmosphere at Soldier Field on Saturday night, even if the weather might be a little chilly. I'm going to list 5 players.
Give me ONE word- one 25 cent word (I have a thesaurus & dictionary handy) to describe each player. 1. Zeke Motta 2. Braxston Cave 3. Manti Te'o 4. Stephon Tuitt 5. Theo Riddick
Not sure if you read my column, but you've got the wrong guy if you're looking for someone with a voluminous vocabulary. (See what I did there?)
1. Zeke Motta — Matured.
2. Braxston Cave — Lynchpin.
3. Manti Te'o — Legend.
4. Stephon Tuitt — Mold-breaker.
5. Theo Riddick — Factotum. (I'll do one fancy word.)
Tell me if you think this game will be close or not. Then, tell me the ramifications for Notre Dame if they win and if they lose according to your prediction.
It definitely doesn't have to be close if the Irish play well. I expect the Notre Dame offense to look like they had an extra week to prepare, especially playing against a young, struggling defense like Miami's. This should be a statement game for the Irish. They are healthy, they are rested, and they are entering a part of the season when they should be hitting their stride. Don't think that Brian Kelly won't let them know that they haven't won five straight games under his watch, or remind them of how flat they played after last year's bye week.
A win is a perfect opportunity for Notre Dame to make a statement and kick start their momentum going into Stanford. It's also a game that they should absolutely win if they think they're the real deal. While it hasn't mattered thus far, I think style points are starting to count. (At least until Stanford, BYU and Oklahoma.) This is also a big game in the young career of Everett Golson, who needs to play well to silence those of us that think it might be time to start reassessing the quarterback position… at least in 2012.
