Some ND Humor from an OSU fan web site:
:mj07:
Irish Stewing
By Tony Gerdeman
I know that I don?t speak for all Ohio State fans when I say that people just need to stop whining about Notre Dame getting an automatic bid for being in the Top 6 of the BCS poll. If there wasn?t a Top 6 stipulation for mid-majors, then we?d never be able to see a Utah or a Memphis or an Arkansas State or a Notre Dame in the BCS.
What the BCS has done is given teams that aren?t good enough to belong to a BCS conference an opportunity to show that they belong. And I?m sure that Notre Dame will be trying to prove that they are every bit the football power that Utah is. If there weren?t a Top 6 stipulation, then Notre Dame would be relegated to the Gator Bowl on NBC every year.
Don?t get me wrong, the Gator Bowl is a good bowl. It?s a New Year?s Day bowl game, after all. The problem is that it?s basically the rich man?s Humanitarian/MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Just like the MPC Computers Bowl is intended for Boise State every year, the Gator Bowl is intended for Notre Dame every year. The Gator Bowl is basically the old Humanitarian Bowl with racing stripes and power windows.
Giving Notre Dame, and all mid-majors, a chance to be in a BCS bowl game gives them the necessary exposure to compete with the Michigan States and the Boston Colleges of the world. If we don?t give UTEP, Eastern Michigan and Notre Dame a shot at the BCS, then we really haven?t progressed as a country. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, do you really think he meant that all men were created equal, except for SMU, Tulsa and Notre Dame? I don?t think so. The little guys have just as much right to a piece of the BCS pie as the big guys.
And so what if Notre Dame has lost seven consecutive bowl games. You can?t always expect to win 14.3% of your bowl games. If you look at their opponents over those seven bowl games, it?s easy to see why they were unable to overcome the big school mystique.
In the 1994 season, Notre Dame lost to Colorado in the ?95 Fiesta Bowl 41-24. Notre Dame, as a lone independent, did well to stay within 17 points of the Buffalo juggernaut in that game.
In the 1995 season, Notre Dame lost to mighty Florida State in the ?96 Orange Bowl 31-26. Yes, that Florida State. If you?re like me, you?re pretty impressed that they almost beat the Seminoles. Almost score one for the little guy.
In the 1996 season, there was no bowl. Probably because Notre Dame was unlisted in the phone book.
In the 1997 season, Notre Dame lost to LSU 27-9 in the Independence Bowl. Keep in mind that this was an LSU team that was representing the 4,000 pound gorilla known as the SEC. Had Notre Dame had the kind of backing that LSU did, you would have to think that they would have been far more competitive.
In the 1998 season, Notre Dame lost to Georgia Tech 35-28 in the ?99 Gator Bowl. It was a tough loss, but not an unexpected loss, as the Yellow Jackets had won a National Championship less than a decade earlier.
In the 1999 season, there was no bowl. If I recall correctly, they didn?t want to be flying during Y2K.
In the 2000 season, Notre Dame lost in the ?01 Fiesta Bowl 41-9 to Oregon State. There is no truth to the rumor that they sold their entire ticket allotment to Nebraska fans. It was probably this game that epitomized the distance between a BCS school and a mid-major like Notre Dame or Tulane or Louisiana-Lafayette.
In the 2001 season, there was no bowl. The rumor was that Notre Dame was being discriminated against for only winning five games. Rather than get in a fight against the immovable NCAA, Notre Dame just decided to move on and focus on academics.
In the 2002 season, Notre Dame lost to North Carolina State 28-6 in the ?03 Gator Bowl. It had to be frustrating to be playing a major BCS opponent every year in a bowl game and never getting an opponent of comparable talent. Say a North Texas or a Northern Illinois or even a San Jose State.
In the 2003 season, there was no bowl game for Notre Dame. At the time, the speculation was that the winner of the Sugar Bowl between LSU and Oklahoma would play Notre Dame, but the ?National Champion? Tigers reneged on the deal.
In 2004, Notre Dame once again lost to Oregon State. This time the bowl was the Insight Bowl and the score was 38-21. However, this time Notre Dame exacted their revenge on the hurtful Beavers by losing to them by fifteen fewer points than they did in 2001. This was a clear indicator that Notre Dame was definitely ready for that next step. That ?next step? was aided last year when Utah made the BCS and walked all over mighty Pittsburgh. Notre Dame saw that and said, ?If Utah can win a BCS game, then so can we!?
This year, Notre Dame will get that opportunity. And if history is any lesson, the Buckeyes better be ready. Notre Dame no longer sees itself as the pasty, red-headed stepchild of the NCAA. They see themselves as the under-cared-for middle child.
Well, on January 2nd, 2006, the middle child is going to make their definitive cry for attention and unleash a gauntlet of slaps and kicks the likes of which Ohio State has never seen. Will it be enough? It?s too early to say. However, if Ohio State isn?t careful, they could get a cornea scratched or a finger dislocated. Horseplay is dangerous.
As I think about Notre Dame?s place in the BCS, I?m reminded of the first time that I got to eat at the adults? table for dinner at my grandma?s house. I was no longer stuck eating meatloaf on the coffee table watching PBS. I was in the kitchen, eating meatloaf and listening to conversations about PBS. And it was grand. I appreciated my step up just as I?m sure Notre Dame appreciates the step up the BCS gave them a few years ago. However, when I made my step up, I at least brought something to the table (and it wasn?t a possible NCAA record-tying eighth consecutive bowl loss). So here?s hoping Notre Dame appreciates the hand out given to them by the BCS. I?m sure Troy or Louisiana-Monroe or Florida Atlantic would switch with Notre Dame in a heartbeat. Don?t take this opportunity for granted, Notre Dame. Because next year a counterpart like Florida International may take it from you.
