Bob’s College Football Power Rankings: Week 9

1.       Florida (8-0)

2.       Alabama (8-0)

3.       Texas (8-0)

4.       TCU (8-0)

5.       Iowa (9-0)

6.       Oregon (7-1)

7.       Cincinnati (8-0)

8.       Boise State (8-0)

9.       LSU (7-1)

10.    Georgia Tech (8-1)

11.    Pittsburgh (7-1)

12.    Penn State (8-1)

13.    Utah (7-1)

14.    USC (6-2)

15.    Notre Dame (6-2)

16.    Houston (7-1)

17.    Miami (FL) (6-2)

18.    Ohio State (7-2)

19.    South Florida (6-2)

20.    Arizona (5-2)

The Observer Has A New Website. . .

. . . just in time for my latest column.

http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/viewpoint/my-not-very-sophisticated-view-1.835540

I wish they would have started allowing comments a year ago; this is fun.

Bob’s College Football Power Rankings: Week 8

1.       Florida (7-0)

2.       Alabama (8-0)

3.       Texas (7-0)

4.       USC (6-1)

5.       TCU (7-0)

6.       Iowa (8-0)

7.       Cincinnati (7-0)

8.       Boise State (7-0)

9.       Oregon (6-1)

10.    LSU (6-1)

11.    Georgia Tech (7-1)

12.    Pittsburgh (7-1)

13.    Virginia Tech (5-2)

14.    Oklahoma State (6-1)

15.    Penn State (7-1)

16.    Utah (6-1)

17.    Houston (6-1)

18.    Notre Dame (5-2)

19.    West Virginia (6-1)

20.    South Carolina (6-2)

It’s A Long, Long, Long Way Down

When I was in the 3^rd Grade I did something stupid, or at least they told me it was something stupid.  On one of the final days of that school year, a friend and I opened the fire escape window in our classroom.  The fire escape was similar to the rest of the windows in the classroom, except that while the other windows had screens and only opened halfway out horizontally (so there was never any danger in opening them), the fire escape window had no screen and opened like a door (but it was still halfway up the wall so that you couldn’t just fall out of it).

Thinking back on it now, I have no idea why it was even there.  The classroom was on the second floor (and the first floor was half underground, so it wasn’t all that high), but it’s not like there was anything outside that could help you get down to the ground.  If you were to use this to escape the classroom during a fire, you would be risking life (or at least limb) with a 12 foot jump.

Anyways, my friend and I were sent to the Principals office where our best explanation for what we did was that it was a nice day outside and we wanted to open the window.  I don’t really remember getting in trouble for the incident because it was towards the end of the school year; I was just scolded because it was a really dangerous thing to do. 

The thing is that it wasn’t a dangerous thing to do.  Even if a student had jumped out the window that day they probably wouldn’t have suffered lasting injuries, and the fact that they would have needed to actively climb out the window and jump out showed that it really wasn’t dangerous at all.  There was no functional danger in opening that window; the teachers were mad at us because of how overprotective people are in the United States.

***

A couple weeks ago I was walking back from my class at the end of the day when I saw some students in a classroom washing the windows.  Our school doesn’t have all that much money available so the students do pretty much all of the cleaning.  Before and after school students wash the floors of the rooms (I have even seen them cleaning the disgusting bathrooms before) and they oftentimes are doing this more happily than they do the homework I assign them.

So it was not shocking to me that the students were washing the windows of the school, rather what was shocking to me was how they were washing the windows of the school.  These students would stand on the window sill, open the windows (which are horizontally sliding windows) and literally walk outside of the building.  This wouldn’t be a problem if our school only had one floor, but it is actually the complete opposite. 

These students were walking out the windows of the school FOUR STORIES UP.

When I walked into the English office one of my first year students, Becky, was washing a window there.  When I first entered the room everything looked fine as she was just washing the inside part of the window.  I then became very concerned when she stepped up onto the window sill to wash the outside of the window.  She rotated around so that her face was outside the window looking in and hung out by actually holding onto the window itself while she washed it. 

She was hanging out the window with nothing below her for four stories like there was no problem.  While Gavin and I looked back and forth in complete awe between the window and each other, the rest of the teachers in the office were seemingly oblivious to the fact that this student was hanging out a fourth story window with only one hand’s grip keeping her from a long fall.

This would have never happened in America.

***

“It’s happening!! RUN,” a teacher yelled at me as the fire alarm went off at our school.  She had told me earlier in the day that we were going to have a fire drill, but I never could have expected the madness that ensued when the alarm went off.  As would be expected in America, I started gingerly walking out the door of the office towards the stairs when people started sprinting past me and gently trying to make me move faster by pushing my shoulder.

“Faster, faster,” I was told as I walked down the stairs at a slightly quicker pace.  When I got down to the second floor of the school I saw the principal yelling in Chinese and waving his arms in an attempt to encourage people to move out of the building as fast as possible.  He was holding a stopwatch.

The students were running down the stairs and some were pushing each other to get to the door faster.  I was shocked that nobody actually fell down and hurt themselves.  As I made it to the first floor teachers and students were pushing me along so that I would move faster.  Luckily, I made it outside soon enough where I saw the gym teachers timing everybody with stopwatches and discussing the results with the principal. 

When I saw Gavin we just started laughing about what had happened.  I wanted to tell some of the other teachers how unsafe their chaotic fire escape methods were, but I don’t think they could have possibly understood.  As we walked back inside I reminisced about how a ‘Chinese Fire Drill’ amongst bored American teenagers involves everybody getting out of the car at a stoplight, running around the car, and getting back in using a different door.  As most people who do this have never seen an actual Chinese fire drill, I was shocked at how similarly chaotic both events were.

***

A couple years ago, at a tailgate before a Notre Dame Football game, I was introduced to a survivor of the September 11^th attacks.  This man had worked in the World Trade Center and was actually in one of the buildings when the planes hit them.  He told me his story of September 11^th and I was shocked by two things: he was very high in the building when the plane hit (I can’t remember how high), and he survived by taking the elevator down to the bottom and running out of the building. 

Everything about his story goes against conventional American wisdom.  This man survived because he did exactly the opposite of what conventional American wisdom would tell us to do.  When everybody else was running down the stairs, he acted in the face of what we have been taught and took the elevator down to the bottom making it out alive.

So what does this all mean?

While the chaos of the Chinese fire drill might have seemed insane to me at the time, maybe it was exactly the way that people should treat a practice run of escaping a building when there is a fire.  Maybe the conventional American wisdom on how to get out of a building during a disaster is completely wrong.  Americans have become so apathetic to the idea of fire drills that some people didn’t even leave our dorm when fire alarms went off during college, and those that did make it outside did it slowly and begrudgingly. 

Likewise, maybe our teachers were wrong to get so upset with us all those years ago when we opened the fire escape window in our 3^rd Grade classroom.  I’m not saying that we should necessarily allow students to hang out windows that are even higher like I have seen here in China, but maybe there is a middle ground between being too cautious and overprotective and being completely ambivalent to chaotic fire drills and dangerous window washing. 

I don’t know where this middle ground is or where the line should be drawn between stupid actions and life-saving ingenuity, but maybe I’ll just move a little faster the next time we have a fire drill.

Bob’s College Football Power Rankings: Week 7

Another crazy week of college football, another Notre Dame last second finish (although not what we were hoping for) and another week of major changes in Bob’s Power Rankings.  This week I’ll break down my thoughts, and explain why I have Notre Dame ranked, but not Ohio State.

1.       Florida (6-0)

The Gators survived a scare in what was certainly a trap game against the Bobby Petrino and Ryan Mallet led Razorbacks of Arkansas.  While other teams might drop in the rankings because of a similar scare, I think we can all agree that Florida deserves to be ranked #1 until they lose or Tim Tebow goes pro (whichever happens first).

2.       Alabama (7-0)

The Tide haven’t played a close game all season, and looking at the rest of their schedule, they might not.  This very well might be the best team in the country, and if they keep winning they will get a chance to prove it against the Gators.  I’ve only watched ND games thus far this year, but I’m strongly considering making the effort to watch the SEC champion game in early December because of this team.

3.       Texas (6-0)

The Longhorns won the Red River Rivalry against a down for the count Oklahoma team that figured to be their best competition for the rest of the year.  Despite some road trips along the way,  I figure this team will waltz into the BCS Championship game, and maybe even bring Colt McCoy the Heisman while they’re at it.

4.       USC (5-1)

One of the only teams on this list I have actually watched play a game, I think it is clear to everybody that this SC team is in a down year . . . and they are still remarkably talented.  Their Washington loss probably kept them out of the big game again this year (and possibly saved the BCS away from a 3 unbeaten controversy).

5.       Iowa (7-0)

I think we are all expecting the Hawkeyes to lose a couple games before the end of the season, but their trip to the Horseshoe in November is the only difficult game left on the schedule.  Could an unbeaten season by the Hawkeyes pave the way for a BCS playoff?  Is this Kirk Ferentz’s once-every-five-years great season that reminds people of how good a coach he is (he isn’t, and if ND fires Weis I want no part of this guy).

6.       Cincinnati (6-0)

The other team that Irish Eyes are watching is the Bearcats of Cincinnati.  Is Brian Kelly the real deal?  Is this team as good as it’s ranking?  Will they be able to overcome the loss of Tony Pike to trample through the Big East and into their second straight BCS game?  We all know that they are going to lose to Pittsburgh and/or West Virginia/Connecticut. 

7.       Boise State (6-0)

This is as low as I can move the Broncos until Oregon loses a game and can be dropped as well.  I have nothing against the non-BCS teams, but I do have a problem with Boise’s weak schedule and their seeming potential to crash the National Championship party.  In fact, there’s a good chance they aren’t even the fourth best non-BCS team (I’m looking at you Mountain West Conference). 

8.       Oregon (5-1)

The Ducks have been cruising since that season-opening loss to Boise, and now have control of the Pac-10.  If they can win their next two (one against the Trojans), I’ll move them ahead of Boise and anoint them as the best one loss team in the country. 

9.       LSU (5-1)

After a bye week, the Tigers will play the other Tigers in their division.  [How can two teams in the same division that are something like rivals have the same mascot?  I don’t understand it, do people say Go Tigers, Beat Tigers on Gameday?  Does it complicate cheers?  It makes no sense, and it should only be allowed if each team has a live Tiger mascot and the two Tigers fight each other before the games.  OR, since Auburn doesn’t have a live Tiger, LSU’s Mike the Tiger* should fight the Auburn Mascot Aubie.  How well a candidate would do in a fight with an actual tiger would then become part of the Auburn mascot competition.  That would be a college football tradition I could endorse]

10.    Miami (FL) (5-1)

I wonder what the tie-breaker process is in the ACC Coastal Division.  Miami beat Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech beat Virginia Tech, and Virginia Tech beat Miami.  All the teams have only one conference loss, and all of them will probably be favored in the rest of their games.  Because of the ACC’s reputation, this probably won’t impact the BCS Championship race like the Texas-Oklahoma-Texas Tech tie did last year, but I’m shocked this situation already exists halfway through the season.

11.    TCU (6-0)

Now this is a non-BCS team I can root for.  Not only is the Mountain West a very strong conference with BYU, Utah, Air Force, and Wyoming; but the Horned Frogs have a recent history of doing very well and hold non-conference victories at Clemson and Virginia.   

12.    Georgia Tech (6-1)

I want ACC Coastal Division Chaos.  Please win out Paul Johnson, please win out.

13.    Virginia Tech (5-2)

Oh how the mighty have fallen.  Just a week ago I was wondering what would happen if the Hokies could work their way into the BCS Championship game.  Now, they are locked into a battle for their own division.  By the way, I looked up the tie-breaking process at the ACC Website, and was really confused over how this thing would be broken if all three teams win out.  I’m writing in to an actual sportswriter with this question.

14.    BYU (6-1)

Another non-BCS team I can root for.  If they hadn’t choked against FSU I probably would be rooting for them to make the Championship game right about now.  Alas, they probably have no shot at the BCS because of the loss (although if they win out, I’ll be calling for them over that team from Boise).

15.    Oklahoma State (5-1)

I was reluctant to rank them for a few weeks, but after beating Missouri I think they are even better than the Houston team that beat them earlier in the season.  With a couple more Big XII wins (including one against Texas on Halloween) they will shoot up these rankings faster than any team since Iowa).

16.    Pittsburgh (6-1)

Wanny has his Panthers back in the rankings and looking for blood, which pleases me because now Notre Dame has another ranked team on its schedule this season.  Hopefully they won’t lose till the Irish roll into Heinz Field.

17.    Penn State (6-1)

I’m still waiting for Penn State to beat somebody of substance . . . still waiting. . .

18.    Utah (5-1)

I love the Mountain West Conference, and think it is about time they get some respect.  The conference has more teams in my top 20 than the Pac 10 (2), the Big 10 (2), the Big XII (2), the Big East (2), and an equal number of ranked teams as the SEC and ACC (3 apiece).  Anybody who says they don’t have enough depth is kidding themselves as well.  This conference is legitimate and everybody should know it.

19.    Houston (5-1)

I didn’t really want to rank this team, but there weren’t any better options (more on that ahead).

20.    Notre Dame (4-2)

I could try to explain why I think that ND proved they were a top 20 team by almost beating USC, but that is a silly argument.  Instead, I’m now going to give reasons why teams that the polls rank above ND don’t deserve to be ranked at all.  Starting with that team from Ohio. . .

Not Ranked (record, BCS ranking, AP ranking, Coach’s Ranking):

-Ohio State (5-2, 19, 18, 17)

This is the biggest joke I have seen in quite some time.  The Buckeyes have the same number of losses as the Irish (2), and those losses are to a) USC at home, the same loss that ND just had and b) PURDUE, a team that Notre Dame actually beat.  I pollsters might have been able to justify this if OSU had a big win, but their biggest wins to date are against Illinois (0-4 in conference), Indiana (1-2 in conference) and Wisconsin (2-2 in conference).  Until they beat Penn State, Iowa, or Michigan in November I can’t possibly justify a ranking for the Buckeyes.

-Wisconsin (5-2, 21, NR, NR)

At least the pollsters agree with me on this one, but something fishy is going on with the BCS computers.  Sorry Ben and Tim but the Badgers have lost their only two noteworthy games of the year.  After that abysmal out of conference schedule where they played a team named Wofford (If I don’t know what state the school is located in, they shouldn’t be playing against a BCS team) and almost lost to Fresno State, the Badgers have their best wins against an MSU team that ND beat, and a mediocre Minnesota team.  I want to know what the computers see in this team.

-Kansas (5-1, 25, 24, 21)

The Jayhawks only have one loss, so I guess that means they deserved to be ranked.  Never mind the fact that their loss was to dreadful Colorado, and their best wins have come against Duke and Iowa State.  Please show me something, anything.  If you are going to lose to Colorado you need to beat SOMEBODY, ANYBODY.

-Texas Tech (5-2, NR, 21, 24)

At 5-2 the Red Raiders are probably the team that is most deserving to be in my Power Rankings (which is ironic because unlike the above three teams they are not ranked in the BCS).  Not only are their two losses against ranked teams Texas and Houston but they also had a great win last week against Nebraska.  In fact, I’m probably showing favoritism by putting ND above Texas Tech.  Oh well, we’ll see what happens next week.

-Arizona (4-2, 22, NR, NR)

Another puzzling choice by the computers to enter the BCS ratings this week; I’d love to see the Wildcats have a good season but can’t advocate a ranking for a 2 loss team that lost to Washington.  Since the Pac-10 has a nine game schedule, they’ll get the opportunity to prove themselves against Oregon and USC, but until they do the other wins will mean very little.

-West Virginia (5-1, 23, 22, 22)

With wins against Liberty, ECU, Colorado, Syracuse, and Marshall the Mountaineers are really scraping the bottom of the barrel with their schedule.  I’ll give them their due if they win some Big East games, but this ranking is clearly premature.

-South Carolina (5-2, 24, 23, 23)

While the Gamecocks losses are against teams that are good (or great in the case of Alabama) this ranking is based solely on the fact that Ole Miss was overrated at the beginning of the season.  If you really believe that South Carolina is a top 25 team, then you also must believe that Ole Miss is a top 25 team as well, because they are the Gamecocks only good win.  Is Ole Miss worthy of a ranking?  Let’s look:

-Ole Miss (4-2, NR, NR, 25)

Ole Miss does not deserve to be anywhere near the rankings.  Their wins are against Memphis, Southeastern Louisiana, Vanderbilt, and UAB.  While these might be solid to great wins in basketball, they are meaningless in football.  What is even more shocking to me is that the Rebels still have one more out of conference game . . . against Northern Arizona.  I’ve been led to believe that Ole Miss fans think they have a good football program.  If this is true, then I expect them to stop putting together this laughable out of conference schedule immediately. 

-Oklahoma (3-3, NR, 25, NR)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  I really do feel bad for Sam Bradford.  He probably would have made like $40 million dollars had he gone pro last year (and been playing for the Lions).  Now what?  He probably won’t be a first round pick.  He might never be the same player.  It sucks because I love it when players come back for their senior year.  I really had a lot of respect for Bradford, Tebow, and McCoy all returning this year.  I could now see Jimmy Clausen watching what has happened to Bradford and bolting for the NFL at the end of this year, and I wouldn’t blame him one bit.  Regardless, Oklahoma has a .500 record with their best wins against Tulsa and Baylor.  Sorry, this is the one place where the AP voters are out of their minds.

*As I did Wikipedia research about the Auburn and LSU mascots, I discovered that there is a process for finding a new Mike the Tiger at LSU.  Apparently, when a new Mike the Tiger is found, “the public eagerly anticipates for white smoke to blow from the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.”  This is probably one of the coolest imitations of the Papal selection process I have heard of.

. . . Four Years Later: Notre Dame-USC 2009 Game Diary

Every year on Christmas Eve, millions of Children around the world lay down in bed with visions of new toys dancing in their head.  These kids lay down that night thinking about their Nintendo Wii, or their Big, Big, Loader, their Legos or their Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds two doll set.  These kids cannot sleep lying in the beds thinking about the day that is to come.  Can you blame them?

I was the same way last night.  After a great gChat conversation with my closest friend that wasn’t going to be at the game, I laid in bed thinking of my friends that were tailgating at that very moment.  I thought about Hogan and his 1000 beers. . .I thought of Spicy leading the charge for dunk-a-roos, I thought of my parents and Mike who were somewhere along the Indiana Toll Road at this point, I thought of Sharky and Brad, and Carl and Dip, and everybody else.  There was no way I was falling asleep.

But, like those children on Christmas, I did eventually fall asleep.  This is the story of what happened next.

2:56 AM-Here Come the Irish starts playing on my iHome in the family room a mere minute after my alarm clock went off.  I couldn’t have planned things more perfectly.  I open my eyes, shoot out of bed, and pull on my Christmas PJ Pants that Stonewall gave me, my Kyle Rudolph Jersey, and my GBN Swimming and Diving Cap.  I probably look like the most ridiculous person in Yanji right now, but it is game day.

3:00 – The Rudy Theme comes on, and I get more excited as I write the intro to this game diary above.

3:06 –Thunderstruck is playing as my 43 minute pre-game pump up mix starts to pick up.

3:07-yea Texas

3:10-Gavin wakes up, “dude, I think that is too loud” Just then, the mix goes into Barney Stinson pump-up mode: SHOT THROUTH THE HEART AND YOU’RE TOO LATE. . .

3:12-Got a pseudo-text e-mail from Dad, “Good morning, Weather is good in South Bend.  Hope all is well”

3:13: Gonna Fly Now, time for the 3:13 Shotgun.  I go into my room to my keys and realize that the music probably is too loud, oh well.  Which of the eight keys I have from different doors at school should I use to shotgun

3:15: “Bob, we share a wall with these people, we have to turn it down” Gavin goes and turns down the volume, but it doesn’t matter because Last of the Mohicans just came on.

3:16: A promo for the ND-USC game comes on.  Shouldn’t NBC have a pregame show instead of silly skateboarding, or whatever this is?

3:18: You can do ANYTHING to this song.  You can drink to it, you can type to it, you can pray to it, you can run for office to it.  Thanks Dip.

3:20: Apparently Chris Cole won the event AND he leads the points standings.  He is interviewed by some hot sideline reporter (at least she looks that way on my small netbook.  Let’s get this going on Gavin’s larger computer).

3:21: ND Cadence plays on the iHome, it isn’t loud enough.

3:22: GO IRISH GO!!!

3:23: The Blood of Cu Chulainn, and the skateboarding is STILL on, a pseudo-text e-mail from Sharky says, “Just got into the Stadium, I’m excited and nervous” LET’s DO THIS!!!

3:27: After several distractions, we do the shotgun just as I Gotta Feeling is starting to amp up.  Gavin mutes the skateboarding and raises the volume back above the previous level.  THREE, TWO ONE, GO IRISH

3:30: The Game coverage starts.  Let’s see if they can give us a good intro like ND-FSU 1993.

3:31: The JustinTV feed tweaks out, and we start scrambling.  What does the special camera on NBC look like?

3:32: We think we find it, but it turns out to be ESPN.  I’m sure we’ll find it, because Don’t Stop Believing just came on.

3:36: The supplemental feed is interesting, but we’re now paying to get a better feed as the Fight Song comes on the iHome to end my pre-USC mix.  It’s time for kickoff.

3:43: What is a David Ruffer?

3:43: Doesn’t matter, LET’s GO!!!!!

3:44: Pass Interference?  These are Pac-10 Refs?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

3:45: Gavin, “That would be sweet to be Kyle McCarthy.”—Me, “Why?”—Gavin, “To make every tackle on the Notre Dame Defense.”

3:49: Good defensive stand, Gavin asks if I am going to type like this throughout the game.  I don’t know.  I’ve never done this before.  I put the SMC glass in the freezer so that it is frosted

3:50: Here comes the Offense.  Pat Haden, “He [Clausen] has really done well at the end of the game.”  That’s just about the understatement of the century.

3:54 (10:56 game time): Well, if we are going to punt, let’s at least prevent the return like that.

3:58 (9:30ish): Long completion by Barkley, WTF?  That tight end is huge, but we can’t let them do this kind of thing.

3:59 (9:26): SC is driving down the field.  This is not good.

4:00 AM: touchdown SC.  Haden: “That was too easy.” Yes it was, Pat, yes it was.

4:03: The Bears are on Sunday Night Football?  I am totally watching that at school on Monday.

4:04 (8:42): Irish ball.  Let’s go Clausen, we need something here.

4:07 (6:37): Clausen sacked after two throw aways.  That was not the series that we needed.  This is looking more like 06-08 than it is like 2005

4:11: They go over Pete Carroll’s quarterbacks, Palmer, Leinart, Booty, Sanchez, yuk.

4:12: Te’o with a tackle near the sideline, tell me that’s not a late hit out of bounds.

4:16 (3:43): The Irish have the ball again.  We really seem to be setting up the run during this series, which should be great moving forward as Aldridge carries for another first down.

4:19 (1:20): I guess we’re going for the Field Goal.

It’s a FAKE!!!!!!!!

4:20 (1:15): Irish at the Goalline. HUGHES TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!

4:22: After review, the ruling stands.  I didn’t think it was a touchdown, but I’ll take it.  Tie Game.  That stat on the TV (er, computer) says it was the first touchdown against USC in nine quarters.  Does that mean that we have scored a TD since Brady Quinn?

4:24 (1:00): They fumble the reverse on the Kickoff return and almost make me go crazy, but they recover.

4:26: The first quarter comes to a close with a 7-7 tie.  I think we had a good first quarter, and I’ll always take a tie game against SC.  Now we get the local ads, coming to us this week from . . .TAMPA!  Personal injury attorneys, here we come.

4:32 (13:50): Wow, that Bradford guy just stomped straight forward over our defense.  Again, the Trojans are in the red zone, and things are not looking good.

4:34 (12:54): THIS IS HUGE!!  Pete Carroll calls the time out, Tenuta and Brown better have these guys ready coming out of the commercial for a Bud Light Foozie?

4:36: Monopoly is back at McDonald’s!!!! Why do we not have a McDonald’s here?  I heard that if Yanji get’s 10,000 more people, we get a McDonalds, so let’s increase baby production up here so that I can play some Monopoly.

4:37: Barkley overthrows the receiver; SC get’s a field goal.  That’s what we need now it is time for an AskJeeves commercial that looks like a really bad Old Navy commercial.

4:40: Saw VI!?!?!?!?  It’s coming full circle?  Does that means this is the final Saw movie?  I highly doubt that.

4:41: Jimmy is only 3/8 for 20 yards.  Hammond says that the Irish ‘trickery’ has got is this far, and that is not going to do it.  Clausen is sacked.  We’re not going to win this game relying on trick plays and the wildcat offense.  We need Clausen to perform, we need our running backs to perform, we NEED out defense to perform.

4:46 (11:52): Clausen misses his man on 3^rd and 12, and it’s time to punt the ball.

4:48: They are reviewing the punt, how awesome would it be if they overturned this?

4:49: But they don’t.  First down SC

4:51: Matt Barkley went to South Africa over break.  You have got to be kidding me.  NBC shows pictures of him with an African boy.  Who does this guy think he is, a Notre Dame Student?  Tim Tebow?  I’m starting to hate Matt Barkley.

4:55 (8:22): FUMBLE!! FUMBLE!!  I do a stupid looking dance like Marshall does when he is happy in How I Met Your Mother.

4:57: It looks like they are going to overturn this; I think he was probably down.  Stranger things have happened, and these are Big East Refs doing the replay.

4:59: The ruling on the field is overturned.  It was the right call, let’s stop them here/

5:00 (7:24): After a couple runs, SC is kicking its second Field Goal of the game, and it’s good.  13-7 SC.  This is really starting to look like a much closer game than the past couple years, but I don’t think close will be good enough (although it will continue the Friday Night Lights-like trend of close finishes).

5:03: USC airs its commercial.  They say that their students end up going anywhere in the world, but I haven’t met any yet, so anywhere in the world must not mean here.

5:05 (6:21): Alright, Duval, pushing his way into the first down for a great play.  I’d love to see a LOT more of him in this game.  He’s only had 8 catches this YEAR??  He needs to step up his game if we are going to win.

5:06 (5:21): A Golden Tate play interrupts sideline reporter Alex Flannigan saying something, but I wasn’t really listening to her.

5:10 (3:03): After a couple poor plays, we punt the ball.

5:14 (1:45): Fumble?  Fumble??  Are we getting the ball??  As we jumped up from our couch I noticed our beers shake a little bit on our coffee table.  This being the same coffee table that both our laptops were also on, I was suddenly more worried about the computer situation then the game situation.  Intentional grounding was called, I guess it isn’t our ball.

5:17 (0:44): Jesus Christ, that was a long punt. 59 yards?  I guess we probably won’t have a chance to score here. 

5:18: I’m pretty sure Pat Haden just described Notre Dame Stadium as the Sistine Chapel of College of college football.  Nice metaphor Haden.  Now Flannigan is pounding Weis with questions about why being down six is a good thing, and Weis wants nothing of it.  Apparently we can see the bands playing on NBC.com.  Let’s check it out.

5:20: Oh yea, and it is time to make breakfast.  It’s not Kegs and Eggs, but BingChuan and eggs. 

5:21: The SC band is playing Don’t Stop Believing?  Really, do they understand what they are doing?

5:22: The SC band just started Living on a Prayer.  They really don’t get it do they.  It wouldn’t shock me if they start playing the Notre Dame Victory March or the Theme from Rudy next.

5:30: Emmm.  Scrambled Eggs.  For those of you that have been asking what I’m eating in China, it’s pretty much the same thing.

5:31: Brady Quinn is done with the Browns?  Has he played more than two games?  Brady gave me some good moments in 2005-2006 and I’d love to see him do well in the NFL, and it seemed like he should be able to do it with the Browns.  Regardless of what happens to Quinn, I think Mangini sucks.  On a different note, Peter King is picking the bears to win on Sunday; good think I’ll be able to watch that game.

5:36: Offensive statistics do not look good after the end of the first half.  Now it’s time for a commercial for . . . Bengal bouts!!

5:39: WHAT WOULD YOU FIGHT FOR?  Great commercials by Notre Dame this year, maybe I like them more because I’m in China, but we’ve really outdone ourselves with these commercials.

5:41: Haden: “Charlie Weis is one play away from taking the lead, so he is right about the rushing game.”  Huh?

5:42 (13:20): Allen, Allen, Duval. . . two first downs.  This is starting to look like a drive.

5:45 (11:33): Catch by the ‘dependable Robby Paris’.  I’m so glad that he became dependable at some point.

5:49 (10:27): After the Armando Rush, not a good spot, 4^th and 1 . . . Aldridge didn’t get it.  Turnover on downs.

5:50: WAIT, they’re measuring it . . . it looks close . . . it will be short.  Let’s go defense.

5:59: After a USC first down, and a short injury break (that included a preview for a silly little film called Alien Abduction that makes me happy Yanji doesn’t have a movie theater) a nice SACK by the Irish.

6:00: sc touchdown, f***

6:01: 13 point deficit, we really need to score on this drive

6:04 (7:21): For the second time in a row, Tate and Allen are back on the kick.  We’re really putting everything we have into this game.  Weis knows what is at stake, let’s see if Clausen can do something.

6:05 (7:08): Sack, and an UNSPORTSMANLIKE PENALTY.  First down?  Should I be happy about this?

6:07: Not much happening, only a Clausen run, Parris catch and fumble with a Tate recover.  You know just some standard boring Notre Dame football.

6:08 (5:18): Clausen goes deep, TATE TOUCHDOWN, damnit it, they’re reviewing it

6:10: TOUCHDOWN!!!  Show me a defensive stop.

6:13: Te’o with a tackle.  Every time something good (or bad, or anything) happens I tug the cords on my GBN Swimming and Diving Cap even further, and sometimes around my neck. Hopefully I won’t choke myself.

6:15: We almost sack Barkley, but then he gets a huge pass, and a stop near the five.  Shit, we need another big stop.

6:17: touchdown, sc.  They review it, but there’s not much of a question.  27-14, at least it’s not ugly, but this isn’t looking good.  Our offense again needs another score to keep the pace, and our defense NEEDS to make some stops because we can’t be down more than 14 or the game is over.

6:20 (2:30): Now that we need a score, Clausen gets sacked.

6:21 (1:43): Pass Interference, Is this the only way for us to move the chains?

6:23 (1:16): Tate reception, but now it’s 3^rd and long. We REALLY NEED SOMETHING

6:24: yuk

6:25: USC has the ball, a long reception to Damian Williams.  This guy has just been killing us all day.  Fleming is down, but with the 3^rd quarter almost over, does anything really matter?  We’re gonna need another furious Clausen comeback and some more defensive stands.  I imagine the ND Nation guys are already livid with this game.

6:27 (0:00): Anthony McCoy.  I thought we had a good tight end, but it turns out we don’t.  McCoy is the real deal and we have nothing that can match him.

6:29:  It is the beginning of the fourth quarter.  In the stadium right about now people are doing that godforsaken Weis cheer with their hands forming Ws and the 1812 Overture conclusion being played by the band.  I probably wouldn’t be doing it if I was there.  While this game isn’t a blowout, it really doesn’t look close and it is about to be blown wide open. 

6:33 (13:33): sc touchdown, Joe McNight runs it in to make the score 34-14.  This sucks, with the 20 point lead we won’t just need Clausen heroics but some defensive heroics as well.  I just don’t see it happening.  People are probably already calling for Weis to be fired.  This is not a good situation.

6:37 (13:14): Clausen underneath to Allen for a long game, plus a late hit makes it even longer.  Come on guys, let’s get down the field.  Wake up the echoes. . .

6:38: Robby Parris has pink hair extensions for Breast Cancer Awareness month, and wore a pink blazer today that he bought at Salvation Army.  Who is this guy, and when did he become such a dependable media darling?

6:41 (11:13): Clausen runs for the TOUCHDOWN, personal foul on SC (assessed on the kickoff), is the TD the beginning of the comeback?  Is it too little too late?  DEFENSE NEEDS TO SHOW UP NOW!!!!!

6:42: Oh, and the extra point is blocked, or something.  It doesn’t matter, just SHOW ME DEFENSE!!!!!  34-20

6:44: [Notre Dame Commercial time]  Strengthening the weak in faraway lands!!!  I’m in China! WE ARE THE FIGHTING IRISH!!

6:47 (10:29): We just can’t stop them.  USC is driving again; Ian Williams is on the grass.  We NEED a stop, and I don’t think we’ll get it.

6:48: At one point yesterday I was thinking about the game, and realized that I really didn’t know that much about USC.  I realized that maybe I had blind faith in our chances, that I just assumed we would be able to win the game because Clausen had the poise to win in the clutch for three games in a row.

6:50: Tom Hammond notes the gorgeous camera angle of the sun setting behind the stadium.  I look out my window and see the sun rising out to the east of our apartment.  It sounds obvious, but it’s comforting to know that we’re all looking at the same sun. . .

And THE SAME INTERCEPTION!!!!!!!

6:52 (8:55): Irish in the red zone, Clausen sacked.  The defense came up big, now it’s time for the offense.

6:54 (7:28): TOUCHDOWN IRISH!!!!!!!!  WE”RE BACK IN IT BABY!!!

6:55: 34-27.  That Gary Gray interception could go down as the play of the season if we can make another defensive stop here.  There’s a lot of time left, and a lot of game left to play, LET”S DO THIS!!  [I’m starting to think that I am overusing the all caps and exclamation points]

7:00: I see my friend Stonewall appear on gChat and send him a message.  Apparently he just woke up.  For the record, he is in Eastern Time.  I have no further comment on that

7:02 (5:30): HUGE SACK!!! JOHN RYAN

7:02 (5:10): 3^rd and 10, my hands are shaking

7:03 (4:41): He’s out of bounds, Golden Tate back for the Punt.

7:04: Another promo for Sunday Night Football, “I’ve heard them say two young guns too many times.” –Gavin talking about the way in which every promo describes Bears-Falcons as Cutler-Ryan

7:05 (3:52): Clausen dives for the first down.  The line on the screen says that Clausen has led 4 career 4^th quarter comeback victories.  This is what we call CLAUSEN TIME

7:07: THE DEPENDABLE ROBBY PARRIS WITH ANOTHER CLUTCH CATCH

7:08: I am punching my legs at a ridiculously high rate.  I am feeling this, this is OUR TIME!

7:10: First Down Irish, Golden Tate with a great catch [I’m really restraining myself on the caps]

7:11 (0:54): We’re under a minute left, this is the game, this is Weis’s career, this is Clausen’s Heisman

7:12 (0:47): 3^rd and 10, two plays to get the ten yards.

7:12(0:42): 4^th down.  Weis calls a timeout, no commercial break, but this is it.  This is all it.  Whatever happens on the next play will be ingrained in the eyes of Irish Nation FOREVER!

7:14 (0:35): CATCH, PENALTY, FIRST DOWN!! ROBBY PARRIS COULD BE THE HERO OF THE GAME!!

7:15: Oh my god, we’re near the five.

7:15 (0:09): Nine seconds left, ahhhhh??

7:17: Caught by Rudolph? Review? Four seconds??  REVIEW THAT!!!

7:18 (0:04): No touchdown.  This is it, one play left.  One final play.

7:18 (0:00): The ball hit the ground.

7:19: Is there one second left?? Is there time left?  Clausen and Barkley have already shook hands, but now the Trojan players have been sent back to their sideline.  It is 2005 in reverse.  ONE FINAL PLAY!!

7:21: Timeout USC.  Now, this is it.  They thought it was over, we get one more chance, one final chance at immortality.  One final shot at REDEMPTION!!  Someday, a current Notre Dame Freshmen will write a reflection of this like I did of 2005 last week.

7:25: The game is over.  That freshmen will write something similar to what I wrote.  He will write about the chances.  He will write about the moment we thought the game was over.  He will write about the moment when the game was over and the USC team was rushing the field.  He will write about the time that was put back on the clock, and how all of Irish Nation thought that it was our time.  He will write about how it wasn’t our time, and how we still don’t know what to think.

7:27: Sideline reporter interviews Weis as he walks out of the tunnel, and looks like a dead man walking.  He looks and sounds like a guy who is about to be fired.  Is he about to be fired?  Was this truly the end?  They show the play, and it was all Duval who fell down. 

7:30: Boston College is next week in another must-win game.  It is definitely a trap game, the students are on Fall Break, the team might not be focused, and now we NEED TO WIN.  I’m not as upset as I am shocked.  I think everybody expected us to pull it out at the end.  With one second left, we were all expecting some more Purdue-like heroics.  We’ve now had five games in a row go down to the last minute of the game and it is taking years off of all our lives.  I don’t know what to say.  I don’t know what to say.  I don’t know what to say.

12:30: At the beginning of the game I compared the feeling I had last night to the feeling of a little boy on Christmas Eve; I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited with anticipation.  In the end, the game was like the Christmases that so many little children have each year.  I remember circling so many things in the Toys R Us Thanksgiving catalog that I couldn’t possibly get all of them as gifts.  There is always a gift that little kids want but don’t get, and losing this game is like that gift.

I don’t know if our team is past moral victories at this point, but I think the moral victory is the closest thing to not getting that one Christmas gift.  We might be pleased with how our team played, and we might even get a little national respect because of it, but we didn’t get the ONE THING we all wanted so much.  It’s like Christmas for that little boy.  He might have gotten a lot of gifts, and been really happy when he thinks about it overall, but at the end of the day he didn’t get the one thing he wanted.

When we get older, however, Christmas is no longer about the gifts.  It is about coming together with friends and family (some you might not have seen for a very long time) and celebrating just that, being together.  Even though we lost, I’m certain that all my friends and family who went out to the game think it was more than worth their time and will do it again next year [at least I hope they do it again next year . . . guys, we’re all going to a game together next year, right?]. 

So while we can all dwell on the game and wonder about what might have been.  While we are pretending that we had higher expectations than 9-3 in July; while we are wondering if Charlie Weis will ever lead us to the promised land; while we are wondering if Clausen will go pro and this was our best chance at SC; we can remember that the game is about more than the win, just like Christmas is about more than the gifts.

I always hated that cheer in the face of a loss, but over here in China it seems pretty comforting to know that WE ARE ND