Here's some more fodder for the "no respect" fire:
Things really do look bleak for Notre Dame
August 17, 2007
I don't know about you, but I'm not one of those people who roots for his team first and whoever's playing Notre Dame second. I kind of like Notre Dame. I'm still enamored of Charlie Weis, if not the overbearing manner in which he insulates his coaches and players from the media. I respect the fact the Irish play every game under immense pressure. To me, the target on their jerseys is a bigger factor than any unfair advantages the program receives from its NBC contract or the BCS.
And yet the prospect of a disastrous 2007 season in South Bend fascinates the heck out of me.
I'm sorry if you feel there's something inherently wrong with that. But for all the great story lines surrounding national title contenders USC, LSU, West Virginia, Michigan, Texas and on down the line, I have this feeling the most talked-about story in college football for at least September and October will be the angst and despair of Notre Dame.
From the moment it was released, ND's 2007 schedule clearly was fraught with danger. But as I stare at it now, I am seeing nowhere for the Irish and their sea of fans to hide. I am seeing no fewer than four losses before November and -- better start wrapping your heads around the possibility, kids -- as many as eight.
As in 0-8.
Let's rip through the schedule, shall we?
Game 1: at home vs. Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have the No. 1 offensive line and defensive line in the ACC according to the Sporting News' unit rankings. That's a tall order for a team as young as ND. Too tall an order if you ask me.
Game 2: at Penn State. I'm still not fully buying Anthony Morelli and the Nittany Lions offense, but JoePa's defense -- ranked in our top five nationally at linebacker and in the secondary -- will torture Jimmy Clausen, Demetrius Jones or Evan Sharpley (or, more likely, some combination thereof). That's 0-2.
Game 3: at Michigan. It's as unpredictable a series as there is in all of college football, but come on -- the Wolverines are at least as loaded as we mistakenly thought the Irish were last year. Gotta be 0-3.
Game 4: at home vs. Michigan State. Sparty has won two of the last five in this series and should be at least 2-1 with a weak early schedule. Let's say 1-3 anyway.
Game 5: at Purdue. The Boilermakers, who return pretty much everybody, went up and down the field in South Bend last season in a loss. I've got my Big Ten darkhorses going up and down the field in West Lafayette -- aka Dienhartville -- in a statement win. We're at 1-4 now.
Game 6: at UCLA. It took a 45-yard touchdown pass in the final minute for ND to beat the Bruins last season. UCLA will be vastly improved; the Irish will be 1-5.
Game 7: at home vs. Boston College I don't know what you want me to tell you. BC has a wicked defensive front seven and a stud senior quarterback leading our top-ranked offense in the ACC. According to my math, that's 1-6.
Game 8: at home vs. USC. I'm not here to insult anybody's intelligence. The good news: 1-7 is, uh, worlds better than 0-8.
Home dates with Navy, Air Force and Duke and a roadie vs. Stanford wrap up the schedule. And by wrap up I mean wrap up. Well, maybe. You don't suppose the BCS would finagle the Irish into the mix at 6-6, do you?
