(UHND.com) – Despite a 7-1 record eight games into the 2006 season, the Irish find themselves sitting 9th in the BCS behind four other one loss teams. Unlike last year when the Irish found themselves ranked higher with two losses than one loss teams, Notre Dame is struggling to climb the rankings. Why you may ask? The Irish are lacking a signature win and came up very short in their only chance thus far for one.
Whether justified or not, the Irish find themselves ranked towards the bottom of the one loss teams because they just don’t have a big win over a highly ranked opponent. Their opening weekend win over Georgia Tech had the opportunity to become that signature win before the Yellow Jackets got blown out by Clemson a few weeks ago.
The Irish’s blowout of then top 25 ranked Penn State looked like it had potential to be a signature win as well before the Lions lost to both Michigan and Ohio State. Had Penn State been able to pull off one of those upsets, that 41-17 victory would have been looking a lot more impressive in the eye’s of the voters.
Complicating matters for Notre Dame is that their one loss came at home in the blowout variety at the hands of Michigan.
All of this has lead the media to a common belief that the Irish are still not for real which is what happens when you don’t win a bowl game for 13 years. Call it media bias. Call it ignorance. Call it whatever you want, but the bottom line for Notre Dame is that unless the Irish beat USC in a couple weeks, they will still not be looked at seriously by the pollsters.
This is not to say that this thinking is justified, or even fair considering a team like Texas has had an almost identical season, yet sits securely in the top 5 in both voter polls with a much better chance at a title than Notre Dame. This is to say, however, that this is the thinking of the voters this year.
Unfortunately for the Irish, they have just once more chance this year for the kind of win that will legitimize their season in the eyes of the media – November 25th in Los Angeles.
Up to this point in the Weis Era, the most impressive game has been last year’s epic loss to USC in Notre Dame Stadium. No other game in the brief, 20 game career of Charlie Weis has given the Irish as much respect as their 3 point loss to the Trojans last October and believe me this plays a major role in the media’s perception of this year’s Irish.
A voter, who may not wear gold shaded glasses as most of us Irish, looks at Notre Dame this year and sees a teams whose most impressive game in two seasons is a loss. Again, whether this is justified or not, this how they are thinking.
All of this makes Notre Dame’s showdown with USC one of the most important games in recent Notre Dame history. A win over the Trojans, a team that has dominated the college football landscape over the last three or four seasons, not only legitimizes the Irish in the eyes of the voters, but it would give Weis the first signature win of his career at Notre Dame.
Some might argue that Notre Dame’s win over Michigan last year in the Big House qualifies as a “signature” win, but after Michigan went on to lose five games last year, that win lost a lot of its luster.
Does this lack of a real marquee win justify the Irish being ranked below some other one loss teams? Probably not. I think Notre Dame is a better team than some of the teams it currently sits behind, but I think doesn’t matter much beings as I have no say in the matter.
What matters is what the voters think. Right now they think Notre Dame is a team without a real quality win, and unless the Irish beat USC in LA on Thanksgiving weekend, not much Notre Dame does will change that perception.
