[NU Sports] Notre Dame

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> I don't know if the ASU upset was the biggest in
> history, but I almost feel  

I'm a bit surprised our 1995 win in South Bend wasn't
mentioned. I guess I wasn't surprised Musburger failed
to mention it while yakking up the ASU game during
Cal-Rocky Top ... but still, there were a lot of
similarities. ND was top 10, at home and in an opener
where they were huge, mega-huge favorites over a team
just about everyone considered a cupcake. ASU had come
off two I-AA titles at least, where NU was coming off
decades of nothingness.

Plus, looking back it was a pretty major turning point
in two programs. NU went on to capture 3 Big Ten
titles in six years and launched an era where Wildcat
football is no longer irrelevant and where fans expect
victory or at least to be able to compete in the Big
Ten.

And it remains a turning point where Notre Dame has
become somewhat irrelevant by their standards. In
1993, the Irish were essentially national champions,
having beaten champ FSU but fallen to BC and to the
"let's give po' ole Bobby a title" sympathy ... but
that 1995 opener marked the end of Lou Holtz' glory
years and the Irish have been struggling ever since.
Sure, their name and kind schedule have earned them a
few BCS bowls, but they have been soundly spanked in
those bowls and out of the title hunt by early October
pretty much every year.

Yesterday was a huge upset, but I wouldn't vault it to
the top right away. It reminded me a lot of Boise
State's win last year - a big upset to be sure and a
monumental win, but also a sense that this unbeaten
WAC team or two-time I-AA champ wasn't getting the
respect it felt it had earned. 

Northwestern had earned absolutely nothing heading in
to the land of Touchdown Jesus and the Golden Dome to
face a top 10 Notre Dame team on their network. But
the result, and the way we led wire to wire, was
something that absolutely astounded the rest of
America. It certainly deserves a place right up there
with ASU-UM.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


       
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