-593x356.jpg)
I've echoed the thoughts of NBC's Keith Arnold for the past few weeks: this schedule doesn't demand Notre Dame get any "style points" … but for damn sure we're going to take em! "Luck of the Irish", fortuitous bounces, opponents stupidity … whatever. Five and Zero. Feels so good.
FORTY ONE to THREE!!!
376 Yards Rushing!!!
ZERO TDs ALLOWED IN 3 WEEKS!!!
Miami dropped two sure TDs, but those were both on the same drive so we'll call it a straight seven they left on the board. Whether Notre Dame struggled with the speed of Miami's receivers early or a quarterback who could get the ball farther than 20 yards or Motta's crew just found their feet in cement for a few series after the bye – it was clear that the Notre Dame defensive backs caught a few breaks in the first quarter before doing what they've done all year – stomp on opponents throats. Seriously – this Notre Dame team sees an opponent down and they attack with reckless abandon. We haven't seen this … shit, when is the last time we saw this on a consistent basis???
Notre Dame now stands at 5-0 with the #9 ranking. Three teams in the Top Ten ahead of the Irish have already lost (#3 Florida State, #4 LSU & #5 Georgia). Notre Dame will, at worst be #7 while hosting Stanford, and likely they will be #6 because Florida didn't do THAT much to pass 5-0 ND. The BCS rankings are also about to drop and the computers look to be very kind to this Irish schedule. The stars are aligning towards a special season in South Bend. Even ESPN College GameDay is going to get in on the fun in spite of Stanford's questionable loss to Washington last week.
Next up is the pesky trees of Stanford, who spent Saturday experiencing two contrasting revelations. Rich Rod's Arizona Wildcats torched the Cardinal's vaunted defense for 48 points – in three quarters no less (2nd-4th). On the positive note for Stanford – much maligned QB Josh Nunes led a furious late rally while tossing 340 passing yards and 0 INTs. The work will never stop for this Irish defense … except when they play BYU, who scored 6 points against Utah State.
Final Note: We ALL wasted quite a bit of time over Everett Golson missing a meeting … with a PROFESSOR. Thank to Keith Arnold again & Alex Flanagan for stirring us all into an unnecessary tizzy over what was … goddamit Brian Kelly! You KNEW Golson would light it up tonight so you lowered the bar as much as possible to blow this out of the water. I've finally decided: Brian Kelly for President. Tommy Rees is also 13-4 as a Notre Dame starter. #Gamer
Go.Irish.
I'll be breaking down this Irish win with Maggie Gray of Sports Illustrated, Matt Mulvey & hopefully 1-2 other special guests. Tune in.
(Once more for good measure: that's me with the Shamrock Series gloves. I was allowed to try them on inside Notre Dame Stadium before the Michigan game. The man in the background is my proud Dad. He is wearing the Notre Dame sweatshirt I sported every cold day from about age 10-13 before my gigantic frame outgrew it.)
