Welcome to the IBG on Subway Domer! This week the Irish head to Norman for another College Gameday type of game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Most of the world expects not only a win, but a beatdown. I'm calling bullshit.
I'm also calling keith Arnold to answer this weeks questions. You can check out my answers over at Inside The Irish. Also, be sure to stop over at Her Loyal Sons and Strong & True for the other IBG entries.
Let's do this…
No one in the mainstream media is really giving Notre Dame much of a chance in this game. Why? Are they ignorant, hatin', or just plain wrong?
As a quasi-member of the mainstream media, I don't think I can get away with calling anybody ignorant. But I can see your point on hatin'… fo' sho'. It's got to drive members of the college football media crazy, many of them attending journalism heavy colleges like Syracuse and Northwestern, when Notre Dame makes a run in college football. Because in less than a month, the Irish can go from obsolete and irrelevant, to the cover story or A-block of every piece of sports programming. IS NOTRE DAME BACK?!? WHY IS NOTRE DAME OVERRATED?!? It moves the needle, and today that means enough in this really cluttered sports-media landscape.
Personally, I get the gambling line on this game, but I don't agree with it. I don't blame people for not believing in Notre Dame. There's absolutely no evidence to believe in this team, especially with the style of football they're playing. But I think the same way Notre Dame is being undervalued, Oklahoma is being overvalued. Every year, it feels like the Sooners lose one of those head-scratchers games that kind of expose a few fatal flaws in their team. Are we really certain Kansas State is elite? Because they beat Oklahoma? Last year, the No.3 Sooners got beat at home by an unranked Texas Tech team that ended up with five wins, got RG3'd, and then just boat-raced by Oklahoma State. The year before that, their 12-win season included an upset when they were No. 1 by Missouri and a loss to an unranked Texas A&M team. The same story in 2009, an inexplicable five-loss season after starting the year at No. 3. (Yes I know Sam Bradford got hurt that season.) So before we start calling Bob Stoops' squad bullet-proof, let's get a little context.
Are people plain wrong? I've honestly got no clue. But we'll find out Saturday night.
I have compared this ND team to the 2002 Buckeyes several times over the past few weeks. Would you consider that comparison decently accurate, or am I just being a carnival palm reader?
I like the analogy. And I think Lou Somogyi does too, and anything that guy writes is pure gold in my mind. Here's the thing. I used to hate that 2002 Buckeyes team. As a younger, less objective fan, the only thing that made that team immortal is a felon that shouldn't have been playing running back and a ref that made one of the all-time worst calls in college football. But as I get older, I do acknowledge that Jim Tressel vastly outcoached Larry Coker, something we probably all should've seen coming from a mile away.
What we've got to find out is if this Irish team is closer to that 2002 Ohio State team or the 2002 Irish squad. The magic seemed to run out for Ty's squad after that upset in Tallahassee, as a memorable season crumbled at the hands of Boston College.
Give me 3 intangibles that swing in Notre Dame's favor that no one is really talking about. Also give your prediction.
Intangibles? Man, that's a tough one. It's not like this team is filled with Derek Jeters, gritty sixth men, or scrappy journeymen third-liners. But here goes:
1. The Underdog card. Notre Dame is a dangerous underdog. Going in with next to no chance should help this team play fearless.
2. Team Chemistry. Every single time you watch a video or read an article about this team, you can't help but see a group that is willing to take it to the limit for their teammates. That's the kind of thing that helps a group gel and come together and win a big game.
3. Manti Te'o's karma. I pity the team that tries to get in between Manti Te'o and his football destiny. I would only be half-surprised if Te'o harnesses the power of the wind this weekend to make things tougher on the Sooners.
My prediction? Honestly, I have no clue. I could see Notre Dame walking out of Owen Field with another huge victory. It wouldn't even surprise me. Then again, neither would an ugly 17-6 loss. I've never predicted a score in my four seasons of doing this and I don't plan to start now, but it sure will be a lot of fun to see what happens.
