Even with its close-but-no cigar loss to No. 8 Stanford on Saturday, it seems that Notre Dame's bowl options have yet to change.
PALO ALTO, Calif. - No. 25 Notre Dame traveled across the country to play No. 8 Stanford but its longest ride may have come on the Cardinal's final drive.
Depending on when you read this, it's been approximately 60 hours since Auburn's Chris Davis returned Alabama's missed field goal attempt for the most exciting and improbable game-winning touchdown in recent memory. It's now safe to declare Davis the most popular student at Auburn University. His picture is front and center on the university's homepage, and I somehow doubt he will ever have to pay for a meal in any city outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabamba. But Davis's fantastic run should not earn him an automatic trip to the BCS National Championship Game. Maybe I just have a wicked awful case of SEC-fatigue. But as long as No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Ohio State remain unbeaten, there is absolutely no reason for a one-loss team to play for a national championship, even if that team does play in the vaunted SEC. As soon as this week's BCS rankings were released Sunday night, the talking heads at ESPN began looking for ways to get Alabama, Auburn or even Missouri into the title game. They seem to think losing in the SEC is more of an accomplishment than winning against any other competition. Well, I, for one, am done kowtowing to the SEC. For one thing, their claims to football superiority are vastly overrated. The way some Southern coaches talk, you would think Ohio State pads the schedule with middle school squads while LSU and Georgia host NFL teams. The Buckeyes certainly tossed around San Diego State as if the Aztecs were a Pop Warner team, but I doubt Chattanooga was a much bigger challenge for Alabama. Even the teams within the SEC are not quite as dominant as residents south of the Mason-Dixon line would have you think. I don't deny that the best teams in the Southeastern Conference are awfully good. I don't even deny that it is probably harder to go undefeated in the SEC than in any other conference. But let's stop pretending it's a bottom-feeder-free zone. Arkansas (3-9) lost to Rutgers. Kentucky (2-10) lost to just about everyone. Florida (4-8) even found a way to lose to Georgia Southern. Does this really sound like the vicious, any-given-Saturday barrage coaches yap about? But when we come down to it, one-loss teams like Auburn and Alabama shouldn't be allowed to leapfrog undefeated squads, even if they have to compete against a murderer's row of competitors. It's fine to judge dog shows on beauty and pedigree, but in football, it's winning on the field that matters. Frankly, I don't care how impressive someone's schedule or depth chart is. It doesn't matter where the running backs were ranked as high school recruits or how much the offensive line outweighs the national average. To quote former New York Jets coach Herm Edwards, you play to win the game - not to pass "the eye test." Yes, it's unfair that teams in the most talented conferences (at this moment, the SEC) face the hardest road to the national title game and will have a harder time getting into the four-team playoff when that comes to fruition next season. But the same is true of conference championships and professional playoffs. Yet, no one in SEC Land is suggesting that Alabama take Missouri's spot as the Eastern Conference representative in the SEC Championship game because the Crimson Tide could probably beat the Tigers in a head-to head matchup. We should recognize how unfair it is to overlook undefeated teams that aren't in the glamor-conference of the moment. How is it fair that athletes from Florida State and Ohio State play their hearts out and give their fans an essentially perfect season, winning every game, often by dozens of points, and still are told they aren't as good as teams that did slip up? If an undefeated season isn't enough to earn some respect, what is the point of playing football? Thankfully, it is unlikely that Auburn will be able to pass Ohio State if both win their conference championship games, because there are enough people like me with the wild notion that undefeated teams should be rewarded above one-loss outfits. Wins from both the Seminoles and Buckeyes should guarantee the first non-SEC champion since Texas won in 2006. That would be a welcome sight.
In a game full of back-and-forth runs and seven second-half lead changes, Saint Mary's ultimately couldn't hold off Defiance and fell, 77-71, Saturday. Down 64-55 with 6:30 left on the clock, it looked like the Belles (2-4) might be able to come up with one last run against a stingy Yellow Jackets defense, cutting the lead to one when senior guard Shanlynn Bias sank a jumper from the top of the key with just under three minutes remaining to make it 65-64. The Belles went 2-6 after the Bias jumper, though, which Belles' coach Jenn Henley credited to the Yellow Jackets' zone defense. "They switched to that zone in the second half, which gave us a lot of trouble," Henley said. "Especially down the stretch, we got passive and didn't attack as well as we could have." The Belles shot just 33 percent in the second half against the Yellow Jackets' zone. Early, it looked like the Belles might run the Yellow Jackets (2-2) out of the gym, jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first 3:16. After Defiance made a three pointer to cut the lead to 17-11, the Belles came back with another run, scoring seven unanswered points. But, as if on schedule, the Yellow Jackets went on a 10-2 run of their own, following it minutes later with a 9-2 run to close out the half with the Belles leading 34-32. The first 10 minutes of the second half featured more back-and-forth action, as the lead changed seven times. But while trailing 52-49, the Yellow Jackets went on a 9-0 run to go up 58-52 and take the lead for good with just over eight minutes remaining. "I thought the biggest problem for us was we just didn't get to the [free-throw] line, especially in the second half" Henley said. "We needed to get to the line like we did in our win against Anderson, and we couldn't against their defense." Despite allowing the Yellow Jackets to shoot 49 percent from the field in the second half, Henley said she wasn't too disappointed in the Belles' defense. "It was a matter of them getting hot," Henley said. "We gave up a few easy looks in transition, but they just had the momentum down the stretch." Four of the five Belles starters scored in double figures, as sophomore forward Krista Knapke paced the Belles with 24 points and 17 rebounds, both career-highs for the sophomore forward. "I thought Krista had a great game," Henley said. "We are always looking to get paint points, and I think her teammates did a good job of finding her there. She was always around on the offensive boards and was able to convert a lot of those rebounds into points." Junior forward Ariana Paul added 15 points and eight boards for the Belles, while sophomore forward Eleni Shea and Bias pitched in 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Belles open the MIAA season at Adrian on Wednesday. Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu
The Irish wrapped up their season by splitting the weekend, taking a 3-1 victory over Boston College on Friday before falling 3-1 to Syracuse on Saturday for senior day. On Friday, Notre Dame (13-18, 7-13 ACC) dominated the first set, snatching a quick 25-15 victory over Boston College (9-23, 1-19 ACC). The second set presented more of a challenge for the Irish, who battled through six tied scores and three lead changes to claim the 25-23 win and pull ahead 2-0. Senior libero Andrea McHugh said the most difficult part of the game against the Eagles was the defense. "Boston College is a very scrappy team," McHugh said. "It was hard for our hitters to be successful. But our hitters found the open areas, and [senior setter] Maggie Brindock did a great job of moving the offense around." The third set was another challenge, as the Irish went back and forth with Boston College. Nine ties, four lead changes, and even junior outside hitter Toni Alugbue reaching 1,000 career kills couldn't bring the Irish the victory as they lost the third set 23-25. The Irish bounced back in the fourth set and pulled away late to take a 25-20 win and end the game 3-1. McHugh said she's proud of the way her team played Saturday at senior day against Syracuse (16-16, 11-9 ACC). "We were all really focused and determined to have a strong start," McHugh said. The Irish struggled to score against the Syracuse defense. A good blocking team, the Orange took control early and dominated the first set 25-16. The Irish had a tough time getting started and only hit .138 before bouncing back and taking control of the second set. The second-set victory was hard won, with 17 ties and seven lead changes before the Irish finally won, 26-24. The 1-1 tie was the last stand for the Irish, as they didn't score more than 20 points in either of the following two sets. They lost the two sets 25-17 and 25-20, respectively. McHugh, right side Sammie Brown and outside hitter Nicole Smith were honored in a pre-match ceremony for senior day. "It feels like a dream," McHugh said. "I can't believe the season is over. It was a huge blessing to have my family on either side of me when I was walking out because they have supported and encouraged me throughout my entire career." McHugh said despite the loss on senior day, the Irish had fun playing together this final weekend. "While the season didn't end the way we wanted, I am truly honored and so blessed to be able to wear an Irish jersey," McHugh said. Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu
PALO ALTO, Calif. - No. 8 Stanford gashed No. 25 Notre Dame's defense for 261 rushing yards and dashed any hopes the Irish had for a nine-win season with a 27-20 win on Saturday at Stanford Stadium in front of 50,537 people.
Facing cold conditions, Notre Dame finished 22nd in the men's division and 29th in the women's division at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday. Irish senior Martin Grady finished in 35th overall with a time of 30:43.3 to earn All-American accolades.
No. 1 Pasquerilla West completed an undefeated championship season Sunday with a 19-13 victory over No. 2 Ryan on the frozen tundra at Notre Dame Stadium.
No. 6 Notre Dame sent a threadbare squad on the plane to New England, only to have No. 11 Massachusetts-Lowell park the bus on them.
We are less than three weeks from the Heisman Trophy ceremony, and the race for the prized award could not be more wide open.
All three of No. 4 Keough's units - offense, defense and special teams - contributed to its first interhall title Sunday with a 12-0 victory over No. 2 Alumni at Notre Dame Stadium.
Solutions by The State News
