ND-USC: The Difference Between an Advantage and an Excuse

This article is a rebuttal to this article, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/215234-conspiracy-theory-fear-and-loathing-in-south-bend which was a rebuttal to my original article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/214990-the-only-thing-i-hate-about-the-notre-dame-and-usc-rivalry

Rick McMahan's article was assuming that I was making an excuse for USC beating Notre Dame seven straight times. That is not the case at all. I was just simply stating that the Notre Dame-USC game should be at the end of the season regardless of where it is played.

It is known that it was that way until 1960. Rod Wood, a USC fan, actually pointed out that Coach John McKay wanted it changed because it gave Notre Dame an advantage if they played that late in the year.

My point is that by not using this advantage, it actually gives them an advantage. I want to stress the word "advantage," because there is a huge difference between advantage and excuse.

In my original article I stated that USC has been the better team and that is why they have been winning. Would the result have made a difference if the format was different? "Possibly" in 2005, but other than that no way. At the end of the day the better team wins no matter when or where it is played.

However, there is still an advantage that Notre Dame is not taking advantage of. My point is that they should. The reason is that it is a huge part of home field advantage. The elements you are used to playing in is an advantage for the home team. It is not an unfair advantage, just an advantage.

Why do NFL teams play out for the whole season even if they have a playoff spot clinched? It is because they know how important homefield advantage is. Imagine if Green Bay and Dallas play each other in the playoffs. Either the Cowboys have to go play on the frozen tundra or the Packers have to deal with the heat and humidity.

What about the Patriots and Colts. Either the Colts have to go outside to snowy Boston or the Patriots have to deal with the noise of the dome. In both scenarios there is a huge advantage for both home teams and just as big of disadvantage for the road team. Again it is not an unfair advantage, but it is an advantage.

In either of these games, both teams would be ready to play and at the end of the day the better team wins. There are no excuses. However, both teams fought for home field in the previous weeks because it is a huge advantage.

The point is that an advantage is not the same thing in any way as an excuse.