Remember a year ago when Notre Dame's football program, rejuvenated under
first-year coach Tyrone Willingham, was sitting at 10-1 and heading to USC
for a shot at a BSC bowl berth? Well, that was 10 games and eight losses
ago. I'm loving every minute, but WTF is going on?
According to a college football recruiting database featured on ESPN.com,
Notre Dame has had a top-15 recruiting class in each of the last five years
— in order from 2003-1999: 5, 14, 15, 12 and 2. (It's probably 50 straight years, but only these five rankings are available.)
The PK.com sports staff has pored over these rankings and discovered that only five other schools also reeled in top-15 recruiting classes in each of those
seasons — Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas. The key
difference between them and ND? Those teams don't suck.
Notre Dame is not just losing. It's getting thumped — 44-13 to USC and
28-6 to NC State to end last season; losses this season to Michigan, USC and
Florida State by a composite score of 120-14.
The news wires are filled with stories documenting
Notre Dame's current failures, but none sum up the season quite like "Answers to Irish's problems not clear." The Irish do play a tough schedule, and there's no doubt that opposing coaches spend an inordinate amount of time analyzing that game, but this is like the New York Yankees leading the majors in payroll and still finishing in last place. A team
full of high-quality recruits, a 2-6 record and not one bowl victory in 10
seasons? WTF, indeed.
(Couple of final ND tid-bits: I attended a 1998 game in South Bend and it
was a pretty cool fall setting. Damn was it orderly. And on Dec. 6, the
Almighty Ones finally come to the Carrier Dome. With both Syracuse and ND
struggling, it ain't exactly as I'd dreamed. Tickets on eBay are still
going for around $100 just to get in the building.)
Other Sports Links:
• Why Are Kenyans Fast
Runners? — A Slate explainer that introduces some contention
on whether dominance of Kenyans in marathons is attributable to nature or
nurture.
• Salon Readers Try to Write Like Jeanne Zelasko —
In an earlier column, King Kaufman skewered Zelasko's FOX intros, inspiring
some witty responses from readers who tried their hand at clichés and
corny plays on words.
• Big East the Best Hoops Conference Ever? — Now that
the conference has added traditional powers Louisville, Cincinnati and the
very respectable Marquette, arguments are being made that this year's Big
East — with title contender UConn and national champ Syracuse — is
the best ever. I think it's a moot point, as nothing in college
basketball is as good as it was just 10 years ago.
• Mattingly Is Ready to Learn From Torre — It seems
nobody wanted the Hitman to take the Yanks' hitting coach job more than his
wife. Which begs the question, Why would a financially secure woman be so
excited about her husband hitting the road for nine months?
• Coach Anaylzes AL Gold Glove Winners — A-Rod is the
best-fielding shortstop in the league, too? Who knew? That boy's career is
being wasted in Texas. I think he'd look good in pinstripes.
• Download Micro League Baseball for Your PC —
Anyone familiar with this 1980s computer baseball strategy game? In 1988, I
was addicted, and Tim Raines was my main weapon.
I haven't read everything Kaufman has written about Zelasko, but is he certain that all of her sappy words were actually written by her? Does Fox let their hosts do their own writing? Just asking.
Posted by Eddie at November 5, 2003 8:31 AM