Tough Times Don't Last . . .

Tough loss for the Irish against the rival Wolverines on Saturday,
falling 38-34 on a td in the final 10 seconds. More details on the
stats will come later. The main question that lingers is "If not on
Saturday, then when?". The Irish continue to make strides on both
sides of the ball and in the talent department. Jimmy Clausen is the
best Irish qb I've ever seen - right now. Our WRs are uncoverable. And
we are finally starting to run the ball.

Many will criticize late game play calling, a missed field goal, very
suspect officiating, or the inability to catch a pass for a game
sealing first down. Those are all valid criticisms. Just remember when
perfection is required from the officials and our offense to win -
something is wrong. That something is our defensive line - a predicted
weakness that is far worse than initially feared.

The Irish were never a great team - just a good one. They still are,
and a BCS bowl is still there for the taking. Will they bounce back?
We'll see this weekend, when the Michigan St Spartans roll into South
Bend to try and erase their upset blues, while attempting to continue
the amazing 6 game winning streak in Notre Dame stadium.

The Irish should win all remaining games, except the USC game, by 14
points at least. And they should be within 7 pts of USC. That gives us
10-2 and a Sugar or Fiesta bowl birth. There - I feel better for
typing out this real and demanding request. Make no mistake though -
its a doable one. This Irish offense is better than any of us imagined
and USC is the only game the Irish won't be favored to win by a
touchdown or more. It starts on Saturday against the Spartans.