Yesterday was my birthday, which I was happy to celebrate stateside in the company of family. As fate would have it, the Irish had their bowl game against Hawaii last night, which I was able to watch in high definition on a 52-inch Sony flatscreen with surround sound and a steady supply of Miller Lites – and Mexican takeout. I cannot fathom a more perfect setup. Luckily, the unbridled joy created by my accomodations was matched by the Irish performance on the field. Looking for their first bowl game win since 1994 - a 27-24 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M, which also happened to be the first ND game I ever attended – the Irish laid the smack down on the Rainbow Warriors, 49-21.
This was the finest performance I have seen out of the Irish all year and was the closest thing I have seen to a complete game in well over two years. Offense, defense, special teams. Everything was clicking. And Jimmy Clausen, for all his d-bag cockiness, played like the Lebron James of high school football that he was touted as – 401 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters of action. Not too shabby! Other notable performers included Golden Tate (who reminds me of Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers), Armando Allen (who was timed at a 4.35 “on the fly” 40 during his kickoff return TD), Kyle Rudolph, Darius Fleming, Sergio Brown, Harrison Smith, and Ethan Johson – all of whom are either true freshmen or sophomores with the exception of Brown, who is a junior.
Hobbled by two destroyed knees that will require massive offseason surgery and rehab, Charlie Weis called the game from the press box. Given that this was clearly his best game from a schematic perspective, I’m wondering if it would make sense for Charlie to make his switch to the bird’s eye view a permanent one. I’m sure he won’t, but something’s gotta be said for how much clearer a coach can see things from up above rather than seeing it from the imperfect vantage point of the sideline. In any event, this was a great game and a superb way for the Irish to end a season that can be described as nothing other than disappointing. Now they can enter the offseason with a real sense of confidence and optimism, and I for one believe that the Irish will emerge as a legitimate top-20 team next season, which will be followed by a string of BCS berths as Clausen & Co. play out their senior years and are followed by class-after-class of highly-rated recruits. Here’s hoping that Charlie can harness the talent that he has assembled and help these boys play up to their potential. If he can prove that he can develop talent and motivate his troops, the sky’s the limit for the Irish!
