[January 3, 2007] SUGAR BOWL - Notre Dame (10-2) vs LSU (10-2)

[jerseyborn1971]

Points are better taken when you don't claim fellow Irish fans are "on the pipe" for complementing players who had a good/great game.

 

[IrishDon103]

Very true..I'll change it.

I was just a bit surprised to see people talk about Quinn's game against SC as "great". Overreacted.

Sorry everyone..

 

[Bubba]

Brady Played a great game against SC?? I don't know about that...

The first drive he missed rhema wide open in the endzone. Easy throw. He also made some bad mistakes in general 1st quarter.

He played well most of the rest of the game, but again missed a throw or two and he got really rattled between getting ass-pounded b/c of our "o-line" and all the dropped passes.

So I give him a B+ for the game...but a great performance? Nuh-uh.

Anyhow, I think we all know LSU has the edge in terms of talent...

BUT. but but but but..but.....I think Charlie sees the critics, and when he looks at his record, he sees some good ones, but no true "signature" ones. He also sees a few games (SC, OSU, UM) that were winnable (SC, OSU for sure...UM maybe) and yet we got pretty badly spanked. So Weis sees these things, and what does he say? Probably something like "Shit, we need to win this bowl game.".

So the point is, while I think we are a little outmatched, I think Charlie knows that, and knows we need to win this game, and will find a way. Look for Brady to play a hell of a game against a good LSU defense, and look for some interesting wrinkles in the game plan.

And most of all, pray every night...

I think that 274 yds and 3 TDs is pretty good for, as you mentioned, all the a** pounding he was taking. I'm certain I saw at least 6 dropped passes. Figure that into his totals and his completion pct goes from 50% to 62%. He's the best QB in college football, IMO. And that's not through my blue and gold glasses. Objectively, as a college football fan in general, I really believe that. Nobody is perfect. Of course he's going to miss some throws. Especially if he's on the run. Just because ND lost doesn't mean he didn't play a great game.

Do I think we're outmatched? On defense, yes. But, even with JR, I don't think LSUs offense is as good as the 2 teams we lost to. I don't think they can score 30 or more on us. I think their average is 34 or so. I think our offense can score on them, though. Maybe not 30, but enough to make this game a lot more interesting than the media thinks.

Lastly, I hope that CW doesn't approach this as a "we NEED to win" game. I would rather have the team feeling like "we WANT this win!" I'll take desire over desperation any day.

GO IRISH!

edit - BTW, thanks for editing your last post before I had time to read it. And reps to jersey for pointing it out. I'm not a big fan of that kind of posting....it makes me overreact, too.

 

[IrishDon103]

274 yards and 3 TD's is good and dandy, but not GREAT. Good? Certainly. Very good. But a GREAT game is one in which you can do no wrong, where you make all the plays and make your opponent look silly.

Now Brady played a very good game against a real solid defense. But, I don't think great is the appropriate term.

Perhaps you guys use the word more loosely than I do, but to me, great is what Brady did in the 2nd half of michigan state, or what he did against BYU (5 td's, no picks I believe).

 

[grantland]

i'm kind of hoping that going in expecting them to lose will make a win more likely. ND has been getting me like that recently.

I really hope they win the thing. I know they can. It's just LSU might be the second or third best team we've played all year, and we saw what happened against UM and USC...

I hear ya Tedwick, I hope they exceed expectations this time.

 

[IrishDon103]

I hear ya Tedwick, I hope they exceed expectations this time.

Agreed. If nothing else, I at least want it to be close so that all the haters will shut up about how "Notre Dame would be middle of the pack in the all-mighty SEC. They suck. Charlie Weis is fat. ND doesn't belong in a bowl game, much less the BCS. Brady Quinn is bad. Did we mention that Weis is fat?"

Soo...yeah...GO IRISH!!

 

[marv81s]

and stewart mandel's take:

Sugar (Jan. 3): LSU (10-2) vs. Notre Dame (10-2). The game should be a boon to New Orleans' ravaged economy. Not only will Irish fans descend on the city, but there's also a decent chance they'll be hitting the Bourbon Street bars by halftime.

 

[chasseur4]

It's going to be an interesting match-up.
We (LSU fans) are intrigued to be playing a school that has as much or maybe even more in the way of treasured football traditions (if that is even possible).
The Golden Band from Tiger Land marching down the hill to the stadium. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's Saturday Night in Death Valley!" The Pregame Salute. The Ole War Skule. Fight songs written by Huey Long. We bleed purple and gold! Billy Cannon's Halloween run. Chinese Bandits. The Earthquake Game.

Yes, the Superdome is easier to get to for our fans than for yours, but it never will be considered "home"; that distinction belongs only to one very special place known as Death Valley.

Finally, don't put much faith in the overtime scare we had against Ole Miss. Ole Miss and LSU are arch-rivals, and all records are thrown out when they meet. The Rebels came into Tiger Stadium flying high, and as pumped up as college kids can get. Ole Miss' coach is a Lafourche Parish Cajun who has as good a football mind as any in the country, and he pulled out all the stops trying to win one in his home state.

 

[scooper]

We (LSU fans) are intrigued to be playing a school that has as much or maybe even more in the way of treasured football traditions (if that is even possible).

Umm. Nobody has as much tradition as Notre Dame. It's not even close.

Finally, don't put much faith in the overtime scare we had against Ole Miss. Ole Miss and LSU are arch-rivals, and all records are thrown out when they meet. The Rebels came into Tiger Stadium flying high, and as pumped up as college kids can get. Ole Miss' coach is a Lafourche Parish Cajun who has as good a football mind as any in the country, and he pulled out all the stops trying to win one in his home state.

I can buy that argument. But don't think for a second that the Irish can't be just as motivated. If they are, they are more talented more dangerous than Ole Miss, no matter how tough the SEC is.

Finally, welcome. This is a test for the Irish. In all of our pre season ponderings, I was quick to point out LSU out of the top teams as the one team coming in with the least question marks. I said early that you had a shot at the title and only the schedule stood in your way.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I love how SEC powerhouses blow off scares from garbage teams by claiming the "SEC Rival" card. Like that game has NOTHING to do with talent or scheming or coaching or any of the things that go into EVERY OTHER GAME.

LSU should be scared. The media has put them in a position where they have nothing to gain and everything to lose. You'd think they were playing Ole Miss, oops, sorry, that's a rival so it's totally different.

 

[chasseur4]

SEC Garbage?

SEC Garbage?

I'll have to give credit where credit is due. Over the past 10 years, the Irish are 5-3 against SEC teams: 2-2 against Tennessee, 2-1 against LSU, and 1-0 against Vandy. If ND were playing in the SEC, they would at least be doing better than Mississippi State.

You are correct about the Rebels, sir. Now the Tigers have to get themselves ready for another garbage team that will be all pumped up to try to beat them.

 

[scooper]

I'll have to give credit where credit is due. Over the past 10 years, the Irish are 5-3 against SEC teams: 2-2 against Tennessee, 2-1 against LSU, and 1-0 against Vandy. If ND were playing in the SEC, they would at least be doing better than Mississippi State.

You are correct about the Rebels, sir. Now the Tigers have to get themselves ready for another garbage team that will be all pumped up to try to beat them.

Read again. He didn't call the SEC garbage. He said some SEC garbage teams gave LSU a scare. And that is the truth. Yes, even the high and mighty SEC has garbage teams. Every conference does. Ole Miss, right now, is definately one of them.

 

[chasseur4]

SEC Garbage?

SEC Garbage?

I'll have to give credit where credit is due. Over the past 10 years, the Irish are 5-3 against SEC teams: ND has been 2-2 against Tennessee, 2-1 against LSU, and 1-0 against Vandy. If ND were playing in the SEC, y'all would at least be doing better than Mississippi State.

You are correct about the Rebels, sir.
Now the Tigers have to get themselves ready for ANOTHER garbage team that will be all pumped up to try to beat them.

 

[scooper]

I'll have to give credit where credit is due. Over the past 10 years, the Irish are 5-3 against SEC teams: ND has been 2-2 against Tennessee, 2-1 against LSU, and 1-0 against Vandy. If ND were playing in the SEC, y'all would at least be doing better than Mississippi State.

You are correct about the Rebels, sir.
Now the Tigers have to get themselves ready for ANOTHER garbage team that will be all pumped up to try to beat them.

I swear I've read this somewhere before.

 

[chasseur4]

I think the Irish will bring their "A" game to us in New Orleans, and we will have our hands full for sure.
But I could be wrong.
I thought y'all would have put a hurt on the Trojans.

As for our season, it all came down to two really unusual games:
At Auburn, six blatantly bad calls by officials at key times crippled us.
(Check out the Youtube compilation of the Refs' blunders, with the CBS announcers' commentary - it's amazing.)
At Florida, we had an experience in really BAD KARMA: Bizarre mistake on top of bizarre mistake, coupled with the ball bouncing the wrong way every time it was possible. And we STILL could have won with a little more time. Oh well, what might have been.

Come Jan. 3, I hope y'all enjoy yourselves (off the field, of course) in our recovering, but still-hospitable town.
PEACE.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

The SEC is apparently 1 big team. They are incapable of understanding that some of their teams are just not any good regardless of who they play. A team with the same record as LSU and won 2 out of 3 against the Tigers is garbage? What does that make LSU? Less than garbage? Don't be so hard on yourselves...y'all.

 

[scooper]

I'll defend the Irish to my grave, but I won't bash the opponent here. Standings be damned, we're playing the best the SEC has to offer.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

OK. Trash talk aside. LSU is one of the few SEC schools I don't loathe with all of my being. Should be an exciting game.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I'll defend the Irish to my grave, but I won't bash the opponent here. Standings be damned, we're playing the best the SEC has to offer.

Don't let Gators fans here that, Urban Meyer will call for the media to do something about it.

 

[njuneardave]

i have respect for LSU. the team, in my mind, is the class of the SEC. talent wise, LSU wins, but their coach leaves much to be desired, honestly.

chas, not smart saying that the Irish is a garbage team -- it devalues your win (if you win) and becomes a glaring slap-in-the-face if you lose.

 

[Bubba]

OK, I think LSU is a good team. But looking at their schedule, I'm not so impressed. If we're garbage, you might want to look at things a little clearer. LSU lost to 2 top 10 teams. So did ND. For all the talk about NDs weak schedule, take a look at these quality wins...LA-Lafayette, Tulane, Miss St, Fresno St, (6-6) Alabama, Ole Miss.

"Hey there pot....yeah, this is kettle over here and, uh, yeah you're black"

 

[chasseur4]

I was just trying to yank Jerseyborn's chain.
No offense intended.

 

[Bubba]

I'll defend the Irish to my grave, but I won't bash the opponent here. Standings be damned, we're playing the best the SEC has to offer.

Aside from my last post comparing our teams, I agree that LSU is the best in the SEC.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I was just trying to yank Jerseyborn's chain.
No offense intended.

My chain has been yanked. No offense taken. And a good yanking it was! Whoa, that doesn't sound right.

 

[chasseur4]

Tulane is a long-time traditional rival, and Ole Miss, Ms State, and Bama are in our league.
However, we Tiger fans have been raising cane with our A.D. for a few years now about his practice of scheduling non-conference games against the the ULL's and Fresno State's just to be able to turn a profit from additional home games.
I wish the NCAA would require everyone to play half their games away, just so that practice would end.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I wish the NCAA would require everyone to play half their games away, just so that practice would end.

They'll put that on the list of things to do right under "Play-off system for National Championship".

 

[Bubba]

ND has a couple rivals of it's own. And, most teams (rival or not) really bring it against the Irish. A lot of individuals have big games against ND. They know it's a national audience and they have something to prove. Without some in-depth analysis, I'd say ND and LSU played a similar schedule and ended with the same record. I think it'll be a good game, despite what the media thinks.

 

[jerseyborn1971]

I'd rather be us than LSU right now. The media and most college football fans are killing us and claiming we have no chance. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. LSU has nothing to gain and everything to lose.

 

[chasseur4]

Will the real Catholic School please stand up.

Will the real Catholic School please stand up.

When ND came to play LSU in Baton Rouge for the first time in 1971, then-Governor John McKeithen, chatting with Fr. Hesburgh in the press box, was tickled to point out the fact that there were more Catholics on LSU’s roster than on ND’s. The good Fr. Hesburgh had no reply.

Louisiana’s secular “counties” are known as “parishes” for a reason. For the same reason, many of our civil parishes have names like St. Charles, St. James, St. Martin, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, St Tammany, Assumption and Ascension. Unlike most of the Bible Belt South, the dominant culture here in Louisiana, especially south Louisiana, regardless of race or ethnicity, is French and Catholic.

The people who are today known as Louisiana’s “Cajuns” were exiled in the mid-18th century from Acadia - the Canadian province later known as Nova Scotia. The pretext for that act of “ethnic cleansing” by the British conquerors was the French Catholic Acadians’ refusal to swear allegiance to the Protestant Crown. His Catholic Majesty of Spain (then in possession of Louisiana) offered a home to the Acadian refugees, and we have been here ever since. Consider a sampling of names on LSU’s roster: Doucet, LeDay, Perrilloux, Broussard, Gaudet, Landry, Angelle, Dugas, Desselle, Louviere, Planchard, Jean-Francois.

LSU’s roster shows players recruited from Archdiocese of New Orleans high schools like: Jesuit, Holy Cross, Brother Martin, St Augustine, Archbishop Shaw, Archbishop Rummel (my alma mater) and St Paul’s. Other players prepped at Catholic High of Baton Rouge, Redemptorist (B.R.), Vandebilt Catholic (Houma) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Hammond). Out-of-state kids came to LSU from St Paul’s in Mobile, AL, Notre Dame in Tarzana, CA., St. John’s in Holland, OH, and St. Pius X in Lincoln, NB.
Oh yeah, and about that school (mentioned above) that the CSC Fathers have run in New Orleans for almost 150 years: They are known as the Holy Cross Tigers.

The POINT of this diatribe?
On Jan. 3rd, Touchdown Jesus should be wearing purple & gold.

 

[scooper]

I'll be darned. I knew about the high Catholic population in LA and specifically at LSU. But I didn't know you were all origionally Candadians, eh. That doesn't mean you hosers get to play with 12 men on the field or get a running start before the snap.