More Than A Game

It is here. The annual matchup between Notre Dame and USC. I admit, I was having a hard time getting pumped up for this game. I meant to post this early this week but I couldn't bring myself to do it. In my heart of hearts, something just tells me that USC will have no problem covering the 10 point spread the game is sitting at. It's hard to get pumped up for the impending disaster. But as I started to read a buch of articles about the game, I started to get the butterflies. There are so many aspects to this game, that it transcends just a W or L on the schedule. A Notre Dame win could catapault us into elite status for years to come. Conversely, a Notre Dame loss could set the program back 5 years.

The Streak

Yeah, we won 11 straight from 1983 through 1993, but that is long gone from national recollection. We have lost 7 straight, and lost them badly. I want this streak to end. Until we win, we will have to bear the burden of hearing about how USC owns us.

BCS Bowl
We will be favored in every game after this. We have a great shot at 11-1 if we beat USC, and that puts us back into a BCS bowl.

Heisman Trophy
We have given USC its last 3 Heismans. Seriously. Carson Palmer trashing us in the last game of 2002, Matt Leinert repeating this in 2004, and Reggie Bush "pushing" his team to victory in 2005 absolutely pushed these players over the top in winning the award. Now they return the favor. Clausen is near the top of every Heisman watch list, despite getting ZERO preseason publicity. He has earned this with 4 come from behind games (getting outdone in Michigan) and leading the nation in passing. Everyone agrees that an ND win puts Clausen in the clear lead.

Charlie's Future
If I have to hear another sportscaster use the phrase "signature win" when describing Weis' record, I am going to puke. Regardless, Weis is on the hot seat. Anything less than a BCS bowl will cause serious assessment of his future. No USC win, no BCS bowl. It's that simple. If Weis stays, we are loaded with talent and this could be the start of our elite run. If we lose and Weis goes (likely), ND starts over again with a new coaching search and another down stretch that almost always accompanies a new coach. Losing this game and Weis could set us back another 5 years.

Recruiting Windfall
"It is sickening how much talent will be on campus there," Rivals national recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said. "Not only the No. 1 player in the country, but many No. 1 players at their positions."
Rivals call it a potentially transcendental group of athletes. No less than 24 of the best recruits in the nation will be making visits. Not only seniors signing in February, but juniors too. A good showing by ND and we could land an absolute windfall. According to Rivals, 18 4-star and 5-star players will be on campus. We could be set for a decade if we convince a bunch of these guys.

So what is my prediction? As with all things in life, I don't think this game is as black and white as the arguments I presented above. I think USC wins comfortably. ND puts up a fight, and avoids the blowout loss. Weis does just enough to hang on for another year, and we pull in 3 or 4 recruiting commitments. As for the Heisman - Clausen has no shot even if we blow out USC. Florida will go undefeated and America's Tebowner for Tebow will give him his 2nd statue.