2008 Season Preview: Birthday Edition

There was a huge controversy this week that dominated talk radio. The argument was whether it was poor sportsmanship for Coach Weis to keep his first string in the entire game, and to go for two in the final play of the game, thus ensuring the Irish would have sole possession of the most lopsided game ever in college football history.

Prediction: 223-0 Notre Dame

vs. Navy

The Irish had an almost perfect game against the Midshipmen, who were clearly outclassed on the field.

After jumping out to a 28-0 lead by the end of the 1st quarter, Weis played his backups the rest of the way, which made for an exciting game, as the teams traded scores until the end.

There was one major loss for the Irish, as they lost Emeka Nwankwo, who was so inspired by the heart of the Navy team, that he left the team to sign up for a tour of duty. He is expected to return to the Irish after his time in the Navy.

Prediction: 42-24 Notre Dame

vs. Syracuse

Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson tried to get his football team off of the team bus, but the team revolted and threw him out of the bus and drove back to New York, fearful for their health and safety should they take the field with Robinson calling the shots.

Not to disappoint the "sellout" crowd, the Irish decided to take the field anyway, and honored their past coaches by having Holtz and Parsegian take the field opposite Coach Weis. They flipped a coin to see who picks first, and drafted two teams to play that afternoon.

After four quarters of play, the two sides could not get the better of each other, and they finished the game tied at 28. Not wanting to risk injury, the team decided to call it a draw.

Prediction: Forfeit

at Southern Cal

After an epic battle where two undefeated teams battled back and forth throughout the game, The Irish pulled ahead on a Jimmy Clausen run with less than 2 minutes remaining in regulation.

After giving up a 61-yard pass on 4th and 9, the defense stiffened and stopped the Trojans on their one inch line. With only one second remaining on the clock, the Trojans attempted a quarterback sneak. Marc Tyler pushed Sanchez into the end zone, and the SC student body rushed the field, celebrating their epic win over the Irish.

But after about 15 minutes of attempts at crowd control, it was finally determined that a penalty flag had been thrown on the final play.

Marc Tyler was flagged for Assisting the Runner.

Notre Dame wins, and moves on to the National Championship game.

Prediction: 31-28 Notre Dame

vs. the Ohio State University, 2009 BCS National Championship Game

The Irish roll into this game as the undisputed #1 team in the country, facing a 1-loss Ohio State team that lost a squeaker to Southern Cal earlier in the season.

They jump out to an early lead on some impressive long passes from Clausen to Kamara and Floyd. Grimes adds an impressive run on a wide receiver screen to put the team ahead 3 scores.

Then the Irish ground attack shifts into gear. With their top 5 backs rotating into the game, the Buckeyes have no answers to this attack, and their defense quickly wears down.

The Buckeye offense has some success passing late in the game, but Bruton makes some excellent plays in the end zone to hold the Buckeyes to field goals on 4 straight drives.

Prediction: 41-12 Notre Dame



I know we're still a year away from being title contenders, but it's my birthday - a guy can dream, can't he?

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