Could hype and expectations lead to disappointing seasons?

[ulukinatme]

Heres my problem. For those that are overly positive and trying to quell the naysayers, consider this...had the MNC game been closer, I could see where we would have a lot of positives to think about and could be eager for another shot at the big one. It wasn't close though. We were dominated on both sides of the line, even on defense where we should have at least matched up well. We didn't tackle well, although that certainly was a head scratcher given the regular season. Offensively we barely had a pulse, not enough for a big game like this. Defensively we did a 180, and you have to question how good we really were given that teams like Michigan State, USC, and Oklahoma all performed poorly given expectations at the beginning of the season. Stanford was one of the few teams that wasn't expected to do well after they lost Luck, but ended up meeting or exceeding their projections.

Granted, we were kind of ahead of our timetable and got to the big game early, but we weren't ready. Alabama would have needed to have one heck of an off night to walk away a loser. Regardless, the throttling only serves to further the sentiment that our Irish get to the BCS games that we don't deserve to be in and that we don't match up with the elite teams. I hate to be a doomsayer, but if you've been a fan before this season, then you've probably had to endure the crap after the 2005 Fiesta, 2006 Sugar, and the 2000 Fiesta. Those were all pretty bad BCS games to go with this year's, although '05 was competitive at times at least.

I think next season will be decent, at least by our standards given the last 10-20 years. I'm not disillusioned and believe we'll go undefeated again, however I think that this year could set us up to still go to a decent BCS game and hopefully win one for a change. I'd like to break the BCS stigma next since we've already gotten the undefeated regular season monkey off our back, USC has faltered, and we've finally picked up a few bowl wins in the last 5 years.

 

[BurningRiver]

I don't necessarily think that another undefeated regular season is in the cards for next year, but I am certain that this season was a stepping stone for future seasons, laying a solid foundation for a winning culture, and although we lost in the NC game, we will get a chance to avenge that sooner rather than later.

 

[Rudy89]

Maybe I shouldnt have called this earlier in the year

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Maybe I shouldnt have called this earlier in the year

Don't be so hard on yourself. This will be the third time I've said "you can take that s-it to the bank" and the only thing deposited was exactly that, s-it.

 

[ulukinatme]

This is all Rudy's fault!

 

[Patulski]

Because there is so much turnover due to graduation, every year is different in college football. Hype and expectations are nothing compared to blocking, tackling and overall execution. When the other team blocks, tackles and executes better, they win. Football is really that simple.

 

[Bluto]

The only team I've see flatout embarrass ND in the last there years was Alabama. Patulski hit the nail on the head. Maybe some of the lack of execution is coaching, maybe its the players buying into the preseason hype, maybe it's because they have to go to class and actually study. One thing is for sure it isn't due to a lack of talent on the roster.