Cursed?

I’m loathe to mention this, because I don’t want Becky to get lynched, or forcibly removed from the student section in two weeks against Purdue… but it’s sufficiently noteworthy now that I just gotta bring it up (and besides, she already mentioned it on her blog)… Notre Dame is now 0-5 in games that Becky has watched in person, in their entirety. (She left the Penn State game at halftime because she wasn’t feeling well. And she missed, for various reasons, all of last year’s Irish home games except Michigan State and USC.)

(more…)

USC leads Nebraska 14-3 at halftime, and John David Booty — in his second career start — is looking much more like a Heisman candidate than Brady Quinn did today. Booty is 14-for-18 with 152 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Is it too early to start the “Booty for Heisman” chants? Okay, yes, yes it is. :) But still… lookin’ good, John David! Fight on! Keep it up!

UPDATE: Trojans now lead 21-3. This is the 54th consecutive game USC has scored 20 or more points — dating back to the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl against Utah, in Pete Carroll’s first year, and Becky’s and my (and Carson Palmer’s) junior year.

UPDATE 2: Trojans win, 28-10! Woohoo! BEAT THE WILDCATS!!!

…and the agony of defeat:


The first three photos are by the AP; the fourth photo is by me.

“They deserve their just due,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said of the Wolverines. “I think it’s important to understand that team just came and whupped us pretty good.”

I don’t think anyone who watched the game will fail to “understand” that point. The Irish gave up the most points at home in 46 years, and — I hate to say it, but it’s true — Charlie Weis, for all the hype, is now 0-3 against genuinely top-notch teams.

More Michigan photos by yours truly in a photo gallery here.

P.S. Early reaction from the Domersphere:

• The Blue-Gray Sky: “That one was rough. Notre Dame lost that game in all phases — offense, defense, special teams, and coaching — and Michigan came away with a 47-21 win that was about as dominant as you can get. … [T]he national championship hopes are in the hands of other teams now and it’s very possible that Lamar Woodley returned Brady Quinn’s fumbled Heisman for the final Wolverine touchdown. … [I]t’s time to sit back and try to figure out what to do next following the biggest loss in the fledgling Charlie Weis era.” [One quibble, voiced by Becky and endorsed by me: the special teams wasn’t all bad; ND’s punter was great. Credit where credit is due! -ed.]

• Classic Ground: “Everything that could have gone wrong for the Fighting Irish seemed to…starting from the first possession of the Notre Dame-Michigan game. The first-half possessions for the Irish offense were brutal, brutal, and more brutal. … The Wolverines were ahead 27-7, I think, before the Irish had their initial first down. Brady Quinn decided to return to being a 50% passer. … Brutal. As bad as the Irish offense played, Michigan played a well-rounded, excellent game.”

• Rakes of Mallow: “I think it’s important to remember that that is about as poorly as we could have possibly played. Congrats to the Wolverines.”

P.P.S. Here are a half-dozen highlights from my photo gallery:

Again, full gallery here.

Fight on, Trojans!!! Beat the Cornhuskers!!!

UPDATE: Another presumably season-ending injury for the Trojans, as senior fullback Ryan Powdrell twists his leg the wrong way in a highly disgusting fashion, and has to get carted off the field. In a classy move, one of the Nebraska fans gave him a pat on the shoulder on the way out, and the Husker fans cheered for him. Sucks to have your career (in all likelihood) end that way.

On a more practical note, if the Trojans keep suffering injuries at this rate, they won’t have enough players left to field a team by season’s end! Powdrell had been moved from linebacker to fullback to replace Brandon Hancock, who was lost to injury last month! Jeez!

UPDATE 2: The early report is a dislocated ankle.

In other news, by the sound of things, there are a lot of Nebraska fans at the Coliseum! Those Big 12 schools always seem to travel well, at least when they play at USC. I remember being distinctly embarrassed at how many Kansas State fans there were at the 2001 game. They were louder at times than the home crowd. That’s not the case this time, but they are pretty damn loud when Nebraska makes a good play.

Robbie says, "Beat the Cornhuskers!!!" P.S. The Ducks came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Sooners! w00t Pac-10 in the house! :)

Lloyd Carr just got a Gatorade bath. Game over. A few minutes ago, a bunch of green balloons floated away, up into the sky. Several people observed that it was symbolic of our hopes and dreams of an
undefeated season floating away.

Notre Dame cut it to 40-21 and was driving for another, but a Michigan interception effectively ends it. Awful game by Brady, and lots of dropped passes that made it even worse. Who knew the offense would be ND's weak link?

Michigan leads 40-14 at the start of the fourth quarter. It's a 4-possession game with 15 minutes left. Looks like this one's over. :( Meanwhile, LSU-Auburn is a typical SEC defensive "thriller": 7-3
Tigers in the 4th. Oklahoma and Oregon are tied at 20.

Irish score a crucial TD right before the half, cutting the Michigan lead to 34-14. Methinks that missed extra point earlier sets the stage perfectly for a 35-34 Irish win. But can Charlie Weis pull a
Pete Carroll and break out the second-half magic?

Same headline as last week, but this time it's the Irish getting routed. Michigan leads, 34-7. Nothing is going right for the Irish, and the student section is shell-shocked. Well, except the Michigan
fans…

The life has been sucked out of the student section as the Wolverines lead 27-7. Notre Dame finally got a first down, its first of the day, almost midway through the second quarter. But now Michigan
has the ball back. Brady NOT looking Heisman worthy. :(

The refs called pass interference on a ball that Mike Williams, standing on Dwayne Jarrett's shoulders, couldn't have caught -- and this after the unbelievably bad no call earlier. I declare a jihad
against these refs! Irish trail 20-7. Sloppy play.

Well, if it weren't for the refs, that wouldn't have happened. So, I guess all is forgiven. :) 7-7.

Michigan leads 7-0, and two incredibly blatant HORRIBLE calls in a row just went against the Irish, one a pass interference on what would have been at least a 40 yard gain. Even the Michigan fan in
front of me admits they were bad! UM has the ball.