Sun Not Shining On Golden Dome
Anthony Gadson
Sports Writer
It's that time of the year again.
The snow's falling, the holiday lights are going up and the Notre Dame's football team has supplied the punching bag for the Southern California Trojans.
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Ah yes, the Trojans were once again able to showcase their talents against a punch-drunk fighter Saturday night in Los Angeles' Colesium.
While USC players were being paraded around, one-by-one, like exquisite cars at an elite car show, the Irish looked like a pathetic drunk slurring, 'I used to be somebody!"
Per usual, Notre Dame kept the score close for about a quarter-and-a-half, and then it happened.
And the end result was a 38-3 win for USC.
As soon as the road team got a drive started at midfield, a miss communication between super-sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen and freshman tight end Kyle Rudolph resulted in an interception. One play later, USC sophomore Joe McKnight glided 52 yards to the end zone, igniting the blowout.
Now at this point, an Irish fan would usually get upset, but not this time.
No, not after seeing beatings like this since Carson Palmer, Mike Williams, Troy Polamalu and Kerry Colbert began the trend back in 2002.
Since then, it's been different names, but the same story.
In the past few years, USC has gone through such offensive players as Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Matt Leinart, Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett.
In contrast, the Irish have seen the likes of Brady Quinn and uhhhhh, oh yeah, Jeff Samardzija, who's now a relief pitcher with the Chicago Cubs.
But hey, Notre Dame is still among the upper echelon of NCAA football teams right?
Sure, other teams like Oklahoma may score over 60 points in four straight games, while the Irish can't score 60 points in four games combined. Seriously, in their last four games, Notre Dame has scored 53 points. But against the likes of Boston College, Navy, Syracuse and USC, how many points could you expect?
Glancing through the Knute Rockne-covered program from Notre Dame's 27-26 loss to Syracuse, I came across a graphic titled "Super Seasons." This section showcased all of Notre Dame's great teams. Their most recent, an 11-1 1993 team that came a last-second loss to Boston College from a national championship.
1993?
My dear Lord, that was 15 years ago.
Since then, the Irish have compiled a 107-73-1 record going into whatever mediocre bowl game they get into this month. To keep you from doing that math, that's an average season record of 7-5.
Oh sure, the Irish have been in nine bowl games during that span, but have also gone 0-9, being beaten by an average score of 35-17.
Ouch.
So why do Notre Dame fans (and I'm counting myself) still think this team deserves something?
I know they were good between the turn of the 20th century all the way through the 1940s. Then they picked up their game in the 1970s, and Lou Holtz returned them to prominence in the late '80s and early '90s, but now? Ugghhhh.
Somehow current coach Charlie Weis was able to convince today's young football players to come play football in South Bend, evident by his great recruiting classes. But maybe he needs to be convinced that there's more to coaching than recruiting.
Just as Ron Zook recruited great players at the University of Florida, it took his firing and Urban Meyer's hiring to get them a national championship. And now they face off with Alabama in Saturday's SEC championship game to get into another title game.
So following a 3-9 season with a 6-6 mark, Weis' future is up in the air.
His contract buyout is large, but even during these economic times, Notre Dame alums may conjure up the cash.
But before firing a coach, another has to be in place, and who is there?
During the debacle that was Saturday's 38-3 beating, which was an improvement over 2007's 38-0 loss, my friends and I began the list.
Sure there's the impossible, and completely delusional, prospects of Bob Stoops and Meyer, but I prefer to get a little more creative.
Heck, Phillip Fulmer's out at Tennessee and so is Joe Tiller at Purdue. So how about this - we get what would currently be dubbed as the Holy Trinity, with Fulmer, Tiller and Holtz?
There's a lot of wins in that trifecta?
And then there's former coach Tyrone Willingham who will be available after being fired at Washington. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is also being shown the door, so come on down!
Or, or - how about this, Notre Dame just decides to shut down the program.
As much as I love my Notre Dame football, I wouldn't mind seeing a team that didn't get slaughtered on a weekly basis, and yes, a 1-point loss to a 2-8 Syracuse team qualifies as a slaughter in my eyes.
The school can still keep its basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and every other team that still succeeds, but just let the football team go. By doing that, they're letting their fans free as well.
At this point, rooting for the Irish is like being in an abusive relationship.
"They're going to get better. They're going to get better."
What kind of rationale is that? A sick and twisted one.
If the Notre Dame administration really wanted to do their fans a favor, they'd let us go. It's not us it's them.
As Beyonce says in the DirectTV ad that is played at nauseum, "Let me upgrade, upgrade."
If they were to disband, fans could be free to pick an NCAA football team of their liking. Oh sweet free agency.
Texas would be a nice option with their tradition, but would I want to pick such an obvious team. Being a Ball State alum, there's the Cardinals, buuut, I don't see championships in their future, and daddy loves winners.
I could unite my basketball love for Kentucky with the football team, but it would take some time.
Oh geez, I need to stop. I don't like having the wandering eye, and as I've said before, "It'll be better next year."
For now, I'm still going to cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame - no matter how much it pains me.
So with this loss behind me, I'll move on. I'll celebrate the holiday season, go through another year of watching the Cubs break my heart and wait for next year's USC game.
It'll get better.
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