January 2, 1989Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, National Championship Game
Notre Dame 34 West Virginia 21
It was so long ago that most people who attend the University of Notre Dame weren't even born the last time the Irish stood atop the college football world. Since Dr. Lou, 6 different coaches (Yea I counted George O'Leary and Kent Baer) have called South Bend home. There has been an onslaught of criticism about the relevance of Notre Dame when it comes to college football powerhouses. I'll be the first person to admit that going to the Hawaii Bowl sounds more like a vacation than a postseason honor.
There have been blowouts, letdowns, "Bush Pushes" and Clausen punches, but through all the disappointments and controversies relevance has never left. How many schools have a national television station knocking on their door every home game? How many schools can control their own destiny and remain football independent through the current conference realignment?
Every time Notre Dame gets off to a promising start the questions about, are they back or is this the 'Return to Glory' start peppering the sporting news world. These questions are coupled with the constant stream of analysts who say that ND is no longer relevant. If ND isn't relevant, why do these questions persist year after year?
As long as Notre Dame has a TV contract, they will be relevant. As long as Notre Dame's athletic director is allowed to sit on the BCS committee, they will be relevant. As long as Notre Dame can put a football team on the field every Saturday, they will be relevant. Regardless of what analysts say, as long as they keep complaining about Notre Dame, they will be relevant.
Expectations can be high, often too high, coaches can get hired and fired, players will come and players will go, but relevance will never die.
Hate us or love us, nevertheless We are Notre Dame...
I can't agree more....on some parts. To hell with the analysts who think they are irrelevant. They are getting paid to talk about how "irrelevant" they are. Really? That's relevance. People obviously care, and you will find ND fans across the nation and world for that matter (kind of crazy but they are there). Nonetheless, when does that crumble? I think it happens eventually. Maybe it is NBC, who decides they really can't afford to pay what ND wants them to pay, or someone finally forces them to give on their seat, calling shots for the rest of NCAA Football. What if the other big broadcast companies agree, and they simply can't afford to pay what ND wants? (p.s. ring ring...ESPN) This very well may never happen, but I think it is ND's ability to stay respectable as an academic institution and also a halfway decent team with constant effort (even in the bad years) that keep them most relevant. If they put no effort in when they were on the field, then people would stop watching (not the fans, but the other people that tune in just cause they are on national television). Then it gets harder and harder for NBC to halfway make a profit.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely not saying they are irrelevant or that they will ever be, but it doesn't take much to make the angry, patient sports world turn against you (cough LeBron cough). It could be a controversy, allegation, a crappy season, or who knows what. What I am saying is it takes effort to stay relevant, and it is when you take that for granted that irrelevance sneaks in.
It truly depends on how you define relevant. If by relevant, you simply mean that people will be talking about them every afternoon on College Football Live, then yes, Notre Dame will always be relevant, because if they have a good season, analysts will talk about the "Return to Glory" and if they're having a poor season, then the analysts will talk about how much of a disappointment this season has been for a team that had such high expectations.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, however, you can argue that Notre Dame truly has become irrelevant when it comes to being a big time Division I program that consistently puts a contender on the field. In recent years, they haven't been able to compete in recruiting with the major programs in the Big Ten (which is relevant since that is the conference with which they are geographically most similar) and when they do pull away a big recruit/big recruiting class, they have failed to produce a high quality product on the field. Since Lou Holtz, Notre Dame has had two 10-win seasons, only finished in the Top 10 once (2005 AP Poll where they finished ranked 9th, but were 11th in the Coaches Poll), and have participated in three "BCS Bowls" in which they are 0-3 and have been outscored 116-43 (and they are 2-7 in all bowls).
Yes, I concede that they may be relevant in the grand scheme of college football solely for the reason that they have the name of Notre Dame, and therefore analysts will continue to talk about them, but you can't tell me that they are any kind of relevant when it comes to being a factor in the BCS or when this new playoff format comes about being relevant when talking about winning a National Championship. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe Brain Kelly really is the savior of Notre Dame football (8-5 two years in a row is respectable, and they are actually 4-0 right now so there is always a chance), but when it comes to talking about the best team in Division I college football, Notre Dame is (at the moment) irrelevant.
Using the definition you suggest as relevant, 17 of the top 25 teams in the AP Poll are irrelevant. If you are going to use the Big 10 as an example of a relevant conference I'm gonna have to ask you to pump the breaks. 2003 was the last 'relevant' year in the Big 10 and without a pass interference call; Michigan in 1997 is the last national champ they have had. Since then (2003), the Ohio State University has been to the title game twice, losing both by a combined score of 79-38. Looking at the conference as a whole, the Big 10 might as well not even show up in their recent BCS bowl games. I don't have their record in front of me, but unless my memory is just awful their record cannot be good (I think they have 1 Rose Bowl victory in the past 10 years).
ReplyDeleteRegardless, if we're looking for conference relevance we need only look south to the SEC. That is the only relevant conference by your definition. 6 titles in a row speaks for itself. They have made every team and conference look like their little brothers. SEC flat out dominates college football, but if they are the only relevant team, why do we see other games on TV?
If you are gonna use national titles as your mark of relevance then you are 100% correct, ND is irrelevant along with 95% of the country. But I ask you to stretch your definition of relevance to include the future (this year included).
Knowing that your alliances are rooted in the Big 10 and Ohio State, I'd like you to consider this. When the season ends and the BCS selection process is decided, who has an opportunity for postseason play? When it comes down to it, does the risk equal the reward? Granted, ND has been void of a major scandal thus far and I hope it stays that way. Don't tell me that ND's relevance hinges on wins and losses when your Ohio State has cheated its way to national irrelevance.
And yes, by your definition, The Ohio State University is at the top of the irrelevance list in 2012.
I don't disagree with your assessment of the Big Ten or Ohio State for that matter. However, regardless of outcome, there is something to be said about getting to play 3 National Championship Games in a span of 6 years (Ohio State played in 2003, 2006, 2007). In the same span that Notre Dame has made 3 BCS Bowl appearances, Ohio State (since you brought them up) has made 9 appearances and are 6-3. You are absolutely right in that they sit at the top of the list of irrelevance this year, but which has been the more relevant program in the last 15 years since the BCS was instituted for the 1998-99 season?
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes, I do believe that the SEC is the only relevant conference in Division I football at the moment. It is hard to argue with that since they are undefeated (discounting LSU losing to Alabama last year) in National Championship Games under the BCS system. So when you think about it, nobody is relevant under the current system until they unseat the SEC as the undisputed power of college football.
As far as the future goes, I believe that SEC dominance will continue, rendering Notre Dame, Ohio State, the Big Ten, and the 95% of all other teams that you mentioned as completely irrelevant. So maybe it is unfair to use my definition of "having a chance at winning a National Championship in the near future." Your definition, however, would make Notre Dame, Texas, the Big Ten (as a whole), the PAC-12 (as a whole) and the SEC (as a whole) as the only relevant teams in football because they are the only ones with their own TV networks/contracts. I have a hard time believing that anyone is going to put any of the other teams listed above as being AS RELEVANT as the SEC is right now. Nobody can compete at the moment, so I guess at this point, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida are the only relevant programs right now in major college football.
I mean, sure, Notre Dame will always be relevant because there will always be either disappointment that they still haven't return to the glory days, or adulation that they actually "may have" returned to the glory days. But relevance is arbitrary. Relevance is regional. When I go home to Ohio, nobody talks about Notre Dame. Nobody tunes into NBC on Saturday afternoons. They either talk about Ohio State or Michigan, and they watch the Big Ten Network. Here in Indiana everybody talks about Notre Dame because they are the biggest program in the state (sorry IU and Purdue but you're not relevant by any measuring stick). Notre Dame may be relevant to Hoosiers, but Ohio State is relevant to Buckeyes, and Penn State is relevant to Pennsylvanians, and Boise State is relevant to Idahoans, so what really is relevant?
I would reply to you, but that would make you relevant, which you aren't...
DeleteNorthwestern is a sleeper. They are 4-0. Have a fantastic coach and I can see them winning 6 more games, then having a tough time with Michigan and Michigan State, but they have the intangibles: smarts, a good marching band, and the best jerseys in the nation to win those two games as well. Watch out for NU because they are gonna make a run and end their season 12-0, BCS bowl bound and Evanston have another national title trophy to go along with the 7 national championships that they have won in the past eight years in women's lacrosse.
ReplyDeleteActually 13-0, they will win the Big Ten Championship as well.
DeleteYour post couldn't be more relevant now, four days out from USC and a possible National Championship berth. GO IRISH!
ReplyDelete