Bounce Back Weekend

Cold day here in South Bend.  We had a foot (YES, a Foot!) of snow on Thursday and that was followed by a cold snap that is going to last a while.  Gametime temp today will be around 30 degrees, ouch.

Last night may have been the biggest sports night in ND history.  Hockey team and volleyball team on the road.  Men's soccer lost in penalty kicks in ACC semifinal.  Women's soccer won here in first round of NCAA (with snow surrounding the field).  Two home bball blowouts by the women and the men.  Oh yeah, they threw in the pep rally for the football fans as well.  My favorite part was the "enhance parking plan" they rolled out for the night.  In other words, "you are screwed if you want to park".

Today we face the Wildcats in what I hope will be an easy game; we could use it.  NU having a down year and is unlikely to surprise us as they did way back in 1995 at Notre Dame.  Would really like to see a clean game on offense and a confidence builder on defense as we head into the last two tough games.  Many people on campus are concerned about a letdown now that the Irish are out of consideration for the playoff, but I don't see it that way.  There has certainly been some sloppiness, but never any quit in the Irish this year.  We simply have to take care of the ball; or more importantly, Everett has to take care of the ball.  I would also like to see us return to a solid run game as we hopefully will not be trying to catch up like we were at ASU.

There is a great deal to play for this season.  Dropping to #18 gives us a ladder to climb but it will be interesting to see the musical chairs in the next couple weeks with all the top 20 matchups.  Alabama - Miss St. today is a big one for instance.  The committee is definitely moving teams around in a more dynamic way than the poll system used to do.  For the Irish - Peach, Cotton and Fiesta bowls are possible - Orange Bowl a stretch but we have to win them all to find out.  So let's win big.

ND 41, NU 17

GO IRISH!

The Godfather