No body giving the Irish a snow balls chance in Hades to even be competitive in this game. Plus the LSU players are fired up to show those media darlings what real football is all about. But as the saying goes, We'll always have Paris!
I was there and remember the game well. The Gators ran up and down the field for most of the first half at will. The 2nd half was a completly different story and by the end of the game the Gator defense could not stop the Bus and we were toast. I also remember that Notre Dame was ranked very high before injuries led to two late season losses but the break before the bowl gave them time to heal. Not one of the Gators favorite memories, but it was our first time in a major bowl game in years.
No doubt the ND surprise of SEC Champion Fla in the '92 Sugar Bowl was as disappointing a bowl game as Fla has ever experienced except for maybe one other unmentionable. It goes to show anything can and will happen in a bowl game. I do look at conference trends as an indicator of how the late games are going to go. If the SEC is say 5-2 or better before LSU-ND then I look for LSU to be all they are cracked up to be and also for Florida to give OSU a great game. If the SEC record were to be as bad as the reverse at say 2-5 then I will have serious doubts about both LSU and Florida.
Everything is set up for a Notre Dame upset in this bowl. The press is relentless in their position that the Irish have no chance and the LSU players and coaches are running their mouths. This is gut check time for the Irish. A win here sends the program to the next level. A bad loss increases the perception that they are over rated.
How many bowl losses in a row have the Irish experienced and when was the last ND win in a bowl? These are tough questions for Irish fans to answer I believe and winning this game could begin to right that ship. As I say....I will see how the SEC does as a whole before I won't give the Irish a chance to beat LSU.
From CFN on the same subject: "8. There's something scary about the sure thing, part one I’m not changing my pick, but as the grand marshal of the “Florida could win this thing” parade, I’m wavering more than ever. From the goofiness of Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells potentially getting in trouble for a fund raiser to get their families to Glendale to see the game, to the time off, to everyone picking OSU, there’s just something about this that doesn’t seem kosher. The national title game will be a dogfight, and will be better than anyone seems to believe. I’m also wavering on .... 7. There's something scary about the sure thing, part two Not only is no one picking Notre Dame to beat LSU in the Sugar Bowl, it doesn’t seem like the Irish have any reason to even show up to New Orleans. I’m in agreement when you look at the matchup on paper, but these are still 18-to-22-year-old college kids and weird things do happen in bowl games. Look at the 2006 Sugar Bowl when Georgia thought it could just show up and beat West Virginia. This is an Irish passing game full of top NFL prospects; it’s going to get its licks in."
Only hours now till kickoff, many don't even see the point in the Irish showing up for the game. Over on InsideTexas the guys all voted Notre Lame, Notre Dum, etc as the most overrated team in history and the least deserving of a bowl berth. Some are hoping that a LSU ass whooping will cause the BCS to ditch ND and we will no longer even be eligible for the BCS. I'm hoping this little ditty, an adaptation of a famous Johnny Horton song, is how things work out!! In 2007 I took a little trip along with Charlie Weis down the Mighty Mississipp. There was fire in our hearts and the leprechaun was green, And we caught those bloody Tigers in the town of New Orleans. Quinn fired his gun and the Tigers kept uh comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago. He fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. We looked down the river and we seed the Tigers come, And there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum. They stepped so high through the Super Dome's bright gate As their purple-yellow horde started shoutin' "Tiger Bait!" Quinn fired his gun and the Tigers kept uh comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago. He fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Old Charlie said we could take 'em by surprise If we didn't bite on play-action and jammed 'em at the line. Quinn held his fire 'till he seed their faces well, They tried to blitz him good so he screened 'em all to... Well... we... Fired our guns and the Tigers kept uh comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago. We fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Carlson ran through the holes and he ran through the tackles And he ran the deep routes where a tight-end shouldn't go. He ran so fast that the Tigers couldn't catch 'em, On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Quinn fired his cannon till the barrel melted down. It was up to James and Darius to win it on the ground. Coach Weis grabbed Sully, lit a fire on his behind, And when Sully crushed Highsmith, the Tigers lost their minds. Quinn fired his gun and the Tigers kept uh comin' There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago. He fired once more and they began to runnin' On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Carlson ran through the holes and he ran through the tackles. And he ran the deep routes where a tight end shouldn't go. He ran so fast that the Tigers couldn't catch 'em On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico Hut, hut, three, four Sound off, three, four Hut, hut, three, four Sound off, three, four Hut, hut, three, four
Clever stuff TOK. The Irish are gonna have their hands full with these boys. Charlie is going to have to use all his great skills to scheme his way around this LSU front. imho, Brady is no Michael Vick but I would think he's plenty mobile enough to move the pocket and change the launch points to stay away from the LSU pass rush....I don't think he'll stand much of a chance if he just sits back in the pocket. I'm not sure the Irish Oline can consistently keep the LSU front away from Quinn....but if anybody can develop a scheme to do it Charlie is the guy and Brady and the Irish offense are sharp enough to learn quickly.... On defense, I'm not quite sure what the answers are there, but my gut tells me its gonna take a couple turnovers from Russell to get the job done. Let's Go Irish
ND/LSU <r>Terry,<br/> <br/> With all due respect, ND fans could have easily said the same thing a just a few years ago about Texas. I guess we all have selective memory. Maybe they are still mad because the last 3 times that ND and Texas played that I can remember, the Irish beat Texas. Besides, they did themselves in losing to Kansas St. and Tx A&M...oops<br/> <br/> I don't know if the Irish deserve to be there more that any other team ranked ahead of them and I don't have any delusions about beating LSU tonight. They are obviously a big underdog on paper. I'm just hoping they play well. <E>8)</E></r>