The question that is popping in your head right now is probably, "Simon have you watched a Notre Dame game yet this season? They are averaging 2 points per game, have yet to score an offensive touchdown, have the 119th (aka last) ranked offense in all of college football, they have negative rushing yards, their defense is equally pitiful, etc. They look like they are the worst team in college football." My response to that would be yes, they suck, they suck a lot. They are a pitiful excuse of a football team, nevermind a storied football team, however I can easily find ways that this could have been a worse weekend for Notre Dame. And that's simply by looking at a few ironic results that could have fueled the fire but fortunately for ND fans were snuffed out.
The Washington Willinghams 3-0 March
Notre Dame unceremoniously dumped Tyrone Willingham after he failed to turn ND into a National power. His resume at Notre Dame wasn't terrific, 21-15 to be exact, but still he was bounced just when his prize recruit Brady Quinn was ready to become one of the best QBs in college football. It was a rough firing for Willingham and was simply done because Notre Dame's expectations are high.
Well how ironic would it have been if 3 seasons later Tyrone Willingham's Washington Huskies were 3-0 and ranked while Notre Dame's team was 0-3 and amongst the worst teams in college football. Could you imagine the coverage this would be getting? And a few minutes after half time, while ND was down 30+, it looked like the Willinghams could pull it off, they were up 7-3 with a FG attempt. Than the attempt was blocked and well the Willinghams fell apart. The Willinghams would have been 3-0 with wins over two ranked opponents and would have certainly been in the rankings this week, be thankful Notre Dame fans that you were saved this additional embarrasment for this week.
The Upset of The Week Avoided
Meanwhile across the country in Orlando, Florida former Coach of ND for a day George O'Leary was mounting a massive upset attempt against the Texas Longhorns. Throughout the entire game it looked as if the Black Knights could have taken home the biggest upset of the week.
With the ball at the start of the 4th quarter down by 6 the Black Knights pounded in a touchdown to take the lead against the 6th ranked team in the country. Imagine the extra irony here, George O'Leary lied about one inconsequential thing on his resume and was dumped by Notre Dame. Meanwhile 5+ years later he's turned Central Florida into a 2-0 squad with a win over a top ranked team. Only it wasn't to be, Texas rallied in the 4th for 2 FGs and a fumble recovery which lead to a game clinching touchdown and 35-24 lead.
See No Matter How Bad Things Are It Always Can Be Worse
So I know all of you Notre Dame fans out there are miserable and completely depressed but remember this somehow someway it can always be worse. And at the two far ends of the country Notre Dame fans were spared even more embarrasment and even more ribbing by second half rallies from Ohio St. and Texas. Just think about how easy it would have been to use these two results to insult, Willingham with a better record than Weis and O'Leary with more quality wins at UCF than Weis at ND. A 6 year old could come up with insults with that material.
So maybe just maybe ND fans can find some sort of solace from the fact that at the very least they were spared these additional cracks at their sanity.
The Washington Willinghams 3-0 March
Notre Dame unceremoniously dumped Tyrone Willingham after he failed to turn ND into a National power. His resume at Notre Dame wasn't terrific, 21-15 to be exact, but still he was bounced just when his prize recruit Brady Quinn was ready to become one of the best QBs in college football. It was a rough firing for Willingham and was simply done because Notre Dame's expectations are high.Well how ironic would it have been if 3 seasons later Tyrone Willingham's Washington Huskies were 3-0 and ranked while Notre Dame's team was 0-3 and amongst the worst teams in college football. Could you imagine the coverage this would be getting? And a few minutes after half time, while ND was down 30+, it looked like the Willinghams could pull it off, they were up 7-3 with a FG attempt. Than the attempt was blocked and well the Willinghams fell apart. The Willinghams would have been 3-0 with wins over two ranked opponents and would have certainly been in the rankings this week, be thankful Notre Dame fans that you were saved this additional embarrasment for this week.
The Upset of The Week Avoided
Meanwhile across the country in Orlando, Florida former Coach of ND for a day George O'Leary was mounting a massive upset attempt against the Texas Longhorns. Throughout the entire game it looked as if the Black Knights could have taken home the biggest upset of the week. With the ball at the start of the 4th quarter down by 6 the Black Knights pounded in a touchdown to take the lead against the 6th ranked team in the country. Imagine the extra irony here, George O'Leary lied about one inconsequential thing on his resume and was dumped by Notre Dame. Meanwhile 5+ years later he's turned Central Florida into a 2-0 squad with a win over a top ranked team. Only it wasn't to be, Texas rallied in the 4th for 2 FGs and a fumble recovery which lead to a game clinching touchdown and 35-24 lead.
See No Matter How Bad Things Are It Always Can Be Worse
So I know all of you Notre Dame fans out there are miserable and completely depressed but remember this somehow someway it can always be worse. And at the two far ends of the country Notre Dame fans were spared even more embarrasment and even more ribbing by second half rallies from Ohio St. and Texas. Just think about how easy it would have been to use these two results to insult, Willingham with a better record than Weis and O'Leary with more quality wins at UCF than Weis at ND. A 6 year old could come up with insults with that material.
So maybe just maybe ND fans can find some sort of solace from the fact that at the very least they were spared these additional cracks at their sanity.
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