myopiclunacy.com

3:30 PM this past Saturday was an awesome opportunity to watch 3 great college football games, and since I have 3 TVs in my sports nook, I tuned into the USC-Notre Dame and Florida-Kentucky game while focusing on the Miami-Florida State rivalry game on the main screen. Then it dawned on me - Of all six of these teams, the only team ranked in the Top 10 was Kentucky. The basketball school. Have Miami and Florida State fallen that far off the map? Their games used to be the centerpiece of the first weekend in October. Typically the game of the century every year, with the rosters brimming with future NFL talent.

Twenty years ago, Miami and Florida State played in one of the most memorable college games and it eventually settled the 1987 national championship. On Saturday, they meet again with little more at stake than bragging rights. The Seminoles (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and Hurricanes (4-3, 1-2) both need a win in the regionally televised game to keep hopes alive for a respectable season by their standards. That mediocrity has many nostalgic for the 1987 game, which showcased an unprecedented cadre of rising stars in Miami’s 26-25 victory. One of the most compelling matchups was Miami wide receiver Michael Irvin and Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders. “I don’t think I have ever been in a game where there was more talent on the football field between two ballclubs,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said this week. “They had a lot of first-rounders and we did too.” Ten first-round picks were among the more than 60 Seminole and Hurricane athletes who played Oct. 3, 1987, and eventually made it to NFL training camps.

And it’s not just this team. Looking at the Top 10 in the 1990 AP Poll, Few of these teams have shown any kind of form as of late. And Houston has completely fallen off the map.

1990 Final Poll

Final Poll released after Bowls

                                   Final

Rank  Team                         Record

  1   Colorado                     11-1-1

  2   Georgia Tech                 11-0-1

  3   Miami (FL)                   10-2

  4   Florida St.                  10-2

  5   Washington                   10-2

  6   Notre Dame (IN)               9-3

  7   Michigan                      9-3

  8   Tennessee                     9-2-2

  9   Clemson (SC)                 10-2

 10   Houston (TX)                 10-1

Ebb and flow, I guess. Nebraska is reeling - they just brought Tom Osborne back. Penn State and Michigan are in dire need of new coaching. We all know about Notre Dame. And all these mid-major schools like West Virginia, Kansas, Rutgers, South Florida, Fresno State and Boise State have made or are making runs at the title. Oh well, maybe after an up and down year, Miami’s comeback win at FSU will help them turn the corner.

Colin McCarthy returned a fumble 27 yards for Miami’s second touchdown in 11 seconds late in the fourth quarter and the Hurricanes beat Florida State 37-29 Saturday. For the first time since 1977, the rivalry game that helped decide so many national titles during the 1980s and 90s was played with neither team ranked. Fittingly, the Seminoles and ‘Canes combined for nine turnovers, five by FSU. Minutes before Miami’s two quick touchdowns, the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared to have lost their best chance to get the win when Kirby Freeman was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 at the Florida State 1 with 5:29 left and the ‘Canes trailing 29-24. But Freeman, who replaced injured Kyle Wright in the first half, drove Miami 83 yards in a 11/2 minutes to take the lead 30-29 on a 13-yard pass to Dedrick Epps with 1:15 left.

It wasn’t a pretty game. Both quarterbacks were seemingly trying to give the game away. And when UM’s Kyle Wright got knocked out, backup Kirby Freeman did his best to step up those efforts. And I’m no Kyle Wright fan. But Kirby calmed down and the UM defense stepped up. We’re on our way back, baby! FSU - I think you might want to prepare a nice retirement package for ol’ Bobby. It’s time for a change. We can’t let teams like Boston College be number 2 in the BCS. The ACC is supposed to be our playground.

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Touchdown Jesus? More like Field Goal Jesus. First Down Jesus. E for Effort Jesus.

Maybe it’s because of the nostalgia. Maybe the academic prestige. Whatever the reason, somehow Notre Dame Football is made out to be head and shoulders above all - and I don’t like it. I don’t like the whole religious overtones of Touchdown Jesus or God’s Team - implying that God would want them to win more games than USC or even Boston College. I don’t like the fact that they’re the only team in Division IA that has it’s own TV contract. I don’t like that the Big East Conference has Notre Dame in every sport except football, yet if Notre Dame has 6 wins, they automatically kick a Big East team out of a bowl game or a BCS game. But most of all, I don’t like what they’ve been about recently.

A few years back, after some tough times in the post Lou Holtz era, they fired Bob Davie and hired then Georgia Tech head coach Dennis O’Leary to be their head coach, only to fire him when it turned up that he had some inaccuracies (read: lies) in his resume dating back to his college days. So Notre Dame can’t have that stain on their record. They’re Notre Dame. After a search, they eventually hired Tyrone Willingham from Stanford. Monumental hire as he was the first black head coach at a prominent D IA university - ney - the MOST prominent (allegedly). Monumental in that while strides have been made for minority coaches in pro sports, the same was sorely lacking in college football. There were something like 4 head coaches amongst the 117 programs.

Ty was, by all accounts, the salt of the earth. Good guy. Solid guy. Does things the right way. Runs a clean program. Basically - the kind of guy you’d want your kids to play for. Ty Willingham got off to a great start in his first season, but ran into tougher times in the following 2 seasons and the pressure had been mounting for them to make a change. Keep in mind, no other Notre Dame coach was given less than 5 years to prove themselves. It was here that Notre Dame had an opportunity to live up to their reputation. To show their clamoring boosters that they were above the typical low-class tactics of football factories like Alabama and Ohio State. That they didn’t let the old-boy network run their program. So what’d they do? The fired Ty.

Ty landed on his feet at the University of Washington - back in the somewhat less-stained Pac-10. Notre Dame took some heat and were rebuffed by a few of their top choices for the job - including reigning National Championship head coach Urban Meyer - who chose UF instead. Eventually they landed Charlie Weiss - the offensive coordinator from the Pats - who came in with a different approach. He was the NFL coach who would bring his system to college. He was the guy behind the 3 time Super Bowl champion Patriots. He was the one who turned Tom Brady into what hie is today. Right.

Ol’ Chuck Weiss also had a great first year, after which he was awarded with a 10 year contract. TEN YEARS!?! He proved himself for a year and got a 10 year extension! Weiss’ record didn’t improve in his second year and now in his third year Notre Dame sits at 1-7 on the year. They will not go to a bowl game and have routinely had their asses waxed on the field this season, most recently by USC.

The Irish are at the wrong end compared to a lot of teams. They also lost 38-0 to Michigan earlier this season. The two 38-point losses are tied for the eighth worst losses in Notre Dame history. It was the worst Irish home loss, though, since they were beaten 40-0 by top-ranked Oklahoma in 1956. When asked if he believes the Irish have hit rock bottom, Weis chose his words carefully. “I’m going to answer that very cautiously, because I don’t want to be called sarcastic using New Jersey rhetoric,” he said. “So let me just say people better enjoy it now, have their fun now.”

Karma is a bitch, ain’t it?

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