Deal or No Deal?

When the devil showed up early Saturday in the USC coaches’ offices, do you think they took this offer?

Coach Kiffin, do I have a deal for you. I can promise you the following in your upcoming game versus “God’s Team”:

1. SC will win the turnover battle 4 to 1.
2. In addition to ND’s 4 turnovers, they will punt 6 times.
3. ND will miss an extra point attempt.
4. ND’s average starting field position for the game will be their own 19 yard line. They will start one possession at their own 1 yard line, and their best starting field position will be their own 38 yard line.
5. On ND’s first six possessions of the second half, they’ll gain 30 total yards. Three of those drives will gain zero yards. Three will end with turnovers.
6. SC will be inside ND’s 30 yard line 5 times.
7. SC will score 4 times after an ND turnover.
8. For good measure, I’ll throw in a second half driving rain that an ND freshman QB must face. And, what the heck, SC will lead in time of possession.

Not a bad deal, huh?

Too bad it didn’t result in victory for the now 7-5 Trojans. I still remember when I heard on the first Saturday in January that Uncle Pete had left for the NFL. I thought to myself “things are finally looking up”. Well, it’s been a long season for the Irish, but I think I’m right in that feeling. 7-5 feels monumentally better than 6-6, especially given the circumstances.

After losing our last 4 games last year, and 4 of our last 5 in 2008 (not counting the bowl game), going out with three wins (not counting this year’s bowl game) certainly feels like we’re maybe getting on the right track.

And props to the defense (when’s the last time we said that three weeks in a row?). They were the reason we won the game. They’ve basically given up one 2-yard drive for a TD (that took all 4 downs for the score) in the last 3+ games. That’s stellar, regardless of who is on the other side of the line. The media here are all whining about how conservatively SC played on offense, but all I can say to that is “boo hoo”. They called what they thought would work and we stopped them. Next question.

I don’t know which 7-5 team is better, top to bottom. But I do know which team played with more heart and desire last night. And I know which team is feeling better about themselves going in to bowl season and next season. That would be your Notre Dame Fighting Irish, sports fans. Been a long time since we said that too.

This was a big game for the program, after the season they’ve been through. It’s heartening to see that the coaching staff had them up and ready. And ready to fight through some adversity. It’s scary to talk about our defense being “good” again. But it’s amazing how much easier it is to win when you play good defense.

One final, personal note. This was the first game I really cared about in quite a while. I was shushing family members. Throwing clipboards on the floor. Yelling when we scored. Felt good, I must say. I’ll have some more of that, please.

Time to stop gushing. It is only one game in a 7-5 season, after all. But it will definitely go down as the biggest win of the year. Archrival. On the road. Improving our bowl outcome. Breaking a long losing streak. Near national (sorry Rosie) TV. Prime Time (at least back east). 3-0 in November! It all adds up to one big W.

Coach Kiffin, Satan just picked your pocket.

GO IRISH!!!! BEAT _INSERT BOWL OPPONENT NICKNAME HERE_!!!!

The Colonel