Let it be written. Notre Dame's beloved Fighting Irish football team has finished the regular season 12-0. No matter how you slice it... that's 12 victories against 12 opponents. No matter who they were against or where they played, the Irish came away with the win. Even before last night's tilt against USC in Los Angeles, many experts (and when will we be able to officially title these people "so-called" experts?) predicted that Notre Dame was going to lose. That they had not faced an opponent with the Trojan's speed on offense and their defense would be exposed. As ESPN's Lee Corso, who wisely chose Notre Dame in this one, says... not so fast my friend.
In the preseason polls, Notre Dame was no where to be found. Filling up those top spots were, surprisingly, USC and Oregon and the usual cast of SEC powerhouses Alabama, LSU and Georgia. Well, the SEC teams held up their end of the bargain and are basically in the hunt, while the Trojans came apart early and often losing four games before last night.
This game was supposed to be the chance for redemption of a lost season for USC. The opportunity to knock off the nation's number one team, not to mention a bitter rival, was at their disposal. Their star quarterback, and former Heisman Trophy hopeful, Matt Barkley was out with an injury. USC would be able to open up their offensive arsenal, in full throttle fashion with a stong-armed redshirt freshman quarterback named Max Wittek in a nationally televised contest where they had nothing to lose. Notre Dame, however, wearing the face of the disrespected underdog, even though they were in the driver's seat as the better team, showed up and won.
The Irish by no means opened a can of whoop-ass on Southern Cal. You could even go so far as to say the Trojans blew a few chances to tighten the game, or even win it. But as the game unfolded, it brought to mind many other championship football teams who have won their titles in this manner. Ball control, time consuming offense and bend-but-don't-break defense.
Notre Dame began the game with a strong drive capped by a 27 yard field goal, then added a nine yard touchdown run by Theo Riddick and extra point to go up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Trojans untested quarterback was shaky on his first few attempts and it looked like it could be a lopsided battle. No sooner than that was the direction we writers were going to go, Wittek hit Robert Woods for an 11 yard touchdown pass to start the second quarter. That would bring the score to 10-7 and suddenly the red and gold side of the L.A. Coliseum was back to rocking. That, however, was the last touchdown of the game.
The rest of the way Notre Dame showed us what championship programs are all about. It starts at the top. In South Bend, Indiana that's Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick. He has endured nearly 20 years of Irish football that has failed to meet the expectations of even "Touchdown Jesus." Most of that ineptitude he has taken responsibility for with his choices of head coaches. All the hires that he did make over the last few years were mostly consensus choices that simply didn't pan out. Three years ago, however, he knew the next man he wanted at the helm and he played his hand just right.
That man was Brian Kelly, who had just amazingly turned a University of Cincinnati program into a national contender with a 12-0 season. He was a high powered spread offense wizard and would certainly breath life into a program that was basically viewed as outdated. His fiery, unabrasive ego and high energy style would put Notre Dame back on the recruiting map. A place where they were said to be a nonfactor in this day of big money SEC dominated college football. Of all these positives about Kelly, it was his defense who has put his team where they are today.
Enter what is to me the most obvious components in the return of the mighty golden-domers. Heart. Defense. Heart builds a defense and a defense wins championships. We've all heard this a gazillion times, but for some reason we turn a deaf ear. We want that glitzy scoring machine with the dashing young quarterback and a set of speedy sports car type wide receivers. Games that are tied up 54-54 and headed into triple overtime are the ones that make our hearts go all aflutter. But rarely do you see a team like that in a championship game. Championship teams have the ability to stop their opponents from scoring eight touchdowns a game while managing their offense in the most strategic way to position themselves for victory. Nothing rips the heart out of a team more than having their offense repeatedly getting stopped at the goal line. Being rejected time and time again with the brass ring within inches. Applying so much pressure on a desperate offense that their coaching staff can no longer properly call the game or manage the clock. This is how it happened last night.
Critics of Notre Dame are complaining about their lack of strength of schedule. Teams in the SEC and PAC 12 claim that every game for them is like a playoff game because of how good the teams are in those conferences from top to bottom. While this may be true on a stat sheet, teams are still expected to show up and play regardless of the record or competitiveness of their opponent. That is why they play the game. Notre Dame struggled against BYU, winning that game more on missed opportunities by the Cougars than their own superior play. They had to fight off Purdue, Michigan and Stanford, a strong PAC 12 team who at times themselves look like a championship caliber team. They barely escaped the clutches of an inferior Pittsburgh team back in early November when nobody was even watching. This is the mark of a champion and it seems to be the mantra for the Irish this season.
They were not ranked as a formidable foe before the season started. They were not given the chance to win in several of their games this year including last night against USC. The non-believers will continue to pick against them for the next six weeks as they await the national championship game against a much better team from the SEC. Luck of the Irish be damned, I have a feeling that Brian Kelly and his team like it this way.
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