Sit down.... Relax... This could take awhile!

For the second week in a row we pushed around a less talented team and figured out a way to shoot ourselves in the foot!...

RELAX! 

The beauty of this is we know the issue and it is correctable!

We have the right coach!...

Look I'm not making excuses AT ALL!... Denard Robinson is one of the best players in the country, but other than Denard....Michigan doesn't have anything!...

He was the QB....He was their running back..(2nd leading rusher that day for UM had 10 yards!..) He teamed up with Notre Dame so that game could be served once again on a silver platter to the Wolverines.... You're Welcome...

I know the M-Go Blog guy's and the UM fan's will hate seeing this...but ask yourself this!

"If ND is not the better team why are we 5 point favorites to the current Big 10 Champs #15 MSU?"

I mean really, do you think UM will be a favorite over MSU?.... NO...

As fan's we have no possible way of seeing things through rational eyes... 

That's why your 

Ol'buddy Damefan exists, I'm very clear and level headed!

So before you go all Jersey Shore on some idiot neighbor or your lifelong high school friend like me..

Let's talk facts!...

1. Offense:  

     -Passing: We have the number 8th ranked passing game in college football...Led by Tommy Rees who currently has a higher completion ratio and more passing yards than Andrew Luck... He's gotta fix the interception ratio numbers...but that will come!... The kid is clutch...you can't rattle him whatsoever!... and he spreads the ball around, I mean he only targets Floyd about 38% of the time...I can live with that!...

   -Rushing: We have a top 18 running back in Cierre Wood who is flashing big time BCS type of running ability and Jonas Gray, who regardless of his first carry this season, looked great in the USF and UM game as a very serviceable number 2.  We are averaging more yards per carry than...O$U...Michigan State...LSU...and BAMA!... With a 5.1 yards per carry average!

2. Defense:

    -with the exception of 1 quarter's play against UM mixed with un Godly turnovers... the D has played very well... They fly to the ball and swarm tackle...  I have no problem saying this will be a top 20 unit by seasons end!  We are allowing less yards per game and per play than Boise State...South Carolina...Oregon Ducks...and Oklahoma!... and that's after we handed Denard the 4th quarter the other night!...and we all saw, he knows what to do with a gift when he receives one!..

So onward and upward my IRISH FAMILY!...

We have to start winning!...You can't start winning till you stop losing!... Will this be the week?

ARE WE READY TO AVENGE THIS BULLSHIT?

What can we accomplish with this win?

Beat the defending Big 10 Champions....CHECK

Beat the #15th ranked team in the country....CHECK

Get the season turned around and headed in the right direction....CHECK

What does MSU look like?...

Well they are a good team... that has not even come close to being tested...

They've beat Florida Atlantic....who is horrible!

They've beat Youngstown State...who amazingly wasn't playing O$U?

Kirk Cousins can kill you!... He's completing 79% of his passes... against 2 teams that can't defend him and can't pressure him...so what do we know?...

NOTHING? could be elite...could be average?  

They have very nice stable of running backs averaging 4.0 yards per carry but once again...

Against who? 

What do we know...NOTHING!

This game is not about Michigan State...It's not about Brian Kelly... It's not about Notre Dame...

It's about the players.. 

How bad do they want it?

How bad do they want RESPECT?

How tired are they of losing to inferior teams?

All these questions will be answered this Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium and by that evening you can be drinking to celebrate or forget!...

We will find out!...

In closing I want to share one of my favorite stories I've ever read concerning Notre Dame Football.. I can't even remember were I originally saw this...but it's stuck with me...

He has crossed the mighty Jordan.

And what awaits him on the other side will be frightening, at times exhausting, often ridiculous. He will feel at times like he is going in circles, as those on top ridicule him, but one day, there will be a great shout, and the walls of Jericho will come down....And it will have all been worth it.

My 8 year old son became a Notre Dame fan on Saturday. There is no turning back now. He has heard the clarion call, carefully weighed his options, and understanding the trials that await him, he has taken his first step on his life's journey as a Domer. Baptized into the faith on the same day as young Jimmy Clausen.

This is how we are born, this is our story, this is Notre Dame.

Having been raised on past glories and stories of great battles, his faith has never truly been tested. But it is on the horror of the battle field, not in the safety of the camp, that warriors are born.

I watched for years as he walked in and out of the house on Saturdays, a basketball carried in his tiny hands. Sweating, grabbing a Capri-sun, and asking on his way out, "what's the score Daddy?"...."We're winning baby", I'd say, sometimes hopeful that he'd put the ball down and sit and watch with me. But he was a casual fan. He knew a few names, liked the uniforms and the fight song. Content with highlights and updated scores, nothing more.

"Why don't we like Texas ?" he'd ask. Living in San Antonio , he is surrounded by a sea of burnt orange 365 days a year. The answer he'd get..."because we are Notre Dame."

"Did you play for Notre Dame, daddy?" No

"Did you go to Notre Dame, daddy?" No

"Have you ever been to Notre Dame, daddy?" No

"Did your daddy like Notre Dame? No

"Why do we like Notre Dame, daddy?"

"We didn't choose Notre Dame buddy...it chose us."

Sitting there this past Saturday, my son put down the basketball. "What's the score, daddy?"....."We're losing, baby."

Confused and frustrated, he asked "Again?". He sat there for the next hour and I watched as he transformed right before my eyes. He grunted at every incompletion. He sighed at every sack. When Golden Tate caught that pass, he jumped in the air and Tiger-pumped his fist, only to drop to his knees when it was called back. He wanted to get up to leave but always stopped at the stair case and came back at the start of the next play. I could feel his pain. He looked to me for help, hoping that I would change the channel or give him the okay to turn his back on a game he himself, couldn't walk away from. And when there was only seconds left, his hands were still clasped, hoping for a 21 point miracle. I could see he was fighting back tears.

The clock ticked 00:00, and the game was over. But something else was just beginning. I could see it in him...he had crossed over. He didn't choose this moment, it chose him.

The fight is just starting, son. They have surrounded you. They will glory in your destruction, so rumble young man, rumble. Don't whine and complain and point fingers. Persevere. Live by the same code of dignity and honor, in victory and defeat, that you will one day demand from the University that now owns your heart. Can you hear the echoes? Can you feel them stirring? Victory and better days are on their way. I promise you, son.

Remember my brothers and sisters.... Being a Notre Dame fan isn't always easy... It can be frustrating.. There could be long sleepless nights...and glorious celebration Saturdays... But in the end.. Notre Dame is the center of the College Football Universe and stands for more than just Football... Those who know Notre Dame, need no explanation for the obsession...Those who don't, will never understand!...

GOD-COUNTRY-NOTRE DAME

FOREVER!

GOD BLESS and GO IRISH!