Well, that was quite the ride.  I was literally a game-winning drive away from turning in my Irish card for the balance of this season.  Just ask Lizzi and Hurley, who got to witness my near meltdown in real-time.  I was literally standing on the couch with remote control in hand, ready to turn off the Irish for the balance of this year.  Seriously, I was that close.  I haven’t been any closer to abandoning one of my teams since that historic Christian Laettner shot that sent the Duke Blue Devils past the Kentucky Wildcats in the 1992 NCAA East Regional Final.  I was prepared to walk away from the Dukies then, and had my Blue Devil hat lying in the middle of my abandoned seat (for the symbolism, mind you) to prove it.

My natural instinct is to temper the enthusiasm after the Irish pulled off a late-game rally to defeat Purdue 24-21 last night.  After all, the Boilermakers are a middle-of-the-road Big 10 squad and ND is quantitatively better in virtually every respect.  That said, I can’t help but beam with pride at the intestinal fortitude ND displayed down the stretch with this one.  In particular, Jimmy Clausen displayed the attributes of a true leader, coming off the bench – injured – to lead the Irish on the longest game-winning drive in school history.  Kudos to you, Jimmy.  I still think you’re a douche – that obnoxious nodding at the end is totally uncalled for – but you’ve proven yourself one helluva gamer and I can’t help but respect that.

The bottom line is this is exactly the type of win that normally escapes the Irish, and we’re finally getting to see a team that’s learning how to win.  Keep in mind that this team was without it’s number one receiver and running back.  And it played with half a Jimmy Clausen.  Under the lights.  On ESPN.  On the road.  And pulled it off in the final seconds.  That’s some good shit.  I’m still not entirely sold on Weis’ ability as a college coach, but he’s certainly done enough to put his team in position to win each of its first four games, and he’s done plenty to compensate for a defense that appears half a step behind its opponents each week.  He deserves credit for that, no question.

Some other observations:

• I miss Michael Floyd.  A lot.  But I loved watching his emotion as a cheerleader on the sidelines.
• Golden Tate is the truth.  Get the ball in his hands as much as possible.
• Kyle Rudolph is a monster beast ginormous man-child subhuman exclamation point.
• Welcome back, Robert Hughes.  Please keep it up.
• Duval Kamara is officially MIA.  Not only is he erratic in the receiving department, but the dude is experiencing plenty of brain farts as well that come in the form of flags for illegal formation.  Really?  Illegal formation?  Really?
• Shaquelle Evans will have a good career at ND, but that interception of Clausen at the end of the first half would’ve been a touch if Floyd were in there.  Did I mention I miss Floyd?
• I’d grade the offensive line a solid B.  Decent run-blocking but some pretty spotty pass blocking, if you ask me.
• Speaking of which, did you notice how the Purdue defensive line looked like monsters compared to ND’s?  Something’s up here.
• Dear Toryan Smith – I love the effort and the heart, but you’re simply too much of a liability, especially in the passing game.  Opponents pick on you every week because you’re clearly too slow to play in coverage.  I’m sorry, but you’re simply not the answer at middle linebacker.  Role player, yes.  Starter, absolutely not.  But please do keep up the fight.
• Speaking of linebackers, another mediocre game from Brian Smith.  But, on the bright side, Darius Fleming played very well.  Here’s hoping that injury isn’t serious.
• I like Nick Tausch.
• I’m worried about Eric Maust.  Though he delivered when it counted, he’s been awfully inconsistent this year.
• Robert Blanton = sophomore slump?
• I’m tired of seeing Irish defenders bounce off tackles.  And I’m tired of seeing the linebackers and d-linemen swarm to blocks like moths to a flame.  Rarely do you see those guys actually shed a block to make a play.  Instead, they run straight at the block and get sucked up into it, never to be heard from again.
• Dear Robby Parris – Atta boy!
• What do you know?  You play Manti Te’o and he makes plays.  Hmmm….
• What’s wrong with Harrison Smith?  Is he playing out of position?
• I used to think Theo Riddick was gonna spring one this season, but then I saw him run straight into a kicker and began to think otherwise.
• Finally, the zebras appeared to call a balanced game, which was a welcome sight.  Meanwhile, did anyone see the Hoosiers get homered by the refs at the Big House?  I’m starting to see a pattern here…