How the mighty have fallen

WARNING: This has really nothing to do with politics or religion. Instead it is about college football which is ALMOST as IMPORTANT! But, fear not young grass hopper, the usual amount of political incorrectness can still be expected! Enjoy my little tangent!
Your ever so humble, but always so right blogger...


This past week Urban Meyer, former Notre Dame assistant coach and now former University of Utah head football coach accepted the position of head coach at the University of Florida. What is a bit shocking about this is the fact that for a long time Meyer has said his "dream job" was to head the Fighting Irish onto the field in South Bend, IN under the shadow of "Touch Down Jesus". When the opportunity came about after an 11-0 season and BCS bowl bid at Utah, Meyer instead chose the fun and the sun of Gainesville, FL.

This brings a few things to mind for me.

First, how Notre Dame chose to basically screw over Tyrone Willingham (who they made such a big deal about hiring in 2001 ) in order to get their boy Meyer on their side. They moved faster than a priest in the Boston Archdiocese who had just spotted a new alter boy to sign Meyer...only to be spurned by him. And now it appears that their next choice, Bobby Petrino of Louisville has also gave them the big let down. I hate to say, "It serves them right", but you know what; IT SERVES THEM RIGHT!
Willingham had a 21-15 record during a time when the power in college football has shifted dramatically. On top of this, Notre Dame was in decline long before the powers that be for Irish football decided to be politically correct by hiring Willingham to begin with. With a record of 6-5 this season, an upcoming bowl bid, and a chance to play his first full recruiting class next season, Notre Dame could have been looking at a turn around in 2005. Instead, they are going to lose recruits, possibly current players, and even more respect due to this decision.

Second, i hope this means the end of NBC's love affair with Notre Dame football. You would think everyone in the United States was either a Notre Dame or Wisconsin fan, considering how much air time each of these teams have received over recent years. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY I FIND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PLAYING FOOTBALL ON MY TV IN SOUTH LOUISIANA EVERY WEEKEND!!!!!!
Sorry, i digressed. The fact is, Notre Dame tends to play a pretty padded schedule, with the exception of their usual rivals (Michigan, USC, etc), and they tend to get spanked in those games (kudos to the Irish for beating UM this year though...another reason why Willingham should not have been fired). Whatever amount of money has passed between Notre Dame and NBC for this contract has caused someone to get ripped off BIG TIME!

Third, i think Meyer should have stayed in Utah. Sure, the Utes had a rare season and we may never see another Mountain West Conference team in the BCS shuffle again. BUT, college football in the state of Florida is on a MAJOR decline. Zook was fired after 4 winning seasons and a 23-14 record...HELLO! You are NEVER going to be Steve Spurrier (have you ever noticed he always looks constipated? Grab some exlax there Steve-o!), and i'm sure some moron has set up at "fireMeyer.com" website already. Records don't matter down in the swamp, only the holy and sacred name of Spurrier matters.
On top of this all three of the major football programs in FL had less than stellar seasons in 2004, going as far as all 3 schools losing on the same Saturday for the first time since the Apostle John was stranded on the island of Patmos. 8-3 Miami had the highest BCS ranking of 14th after losing it's season finale at home, followed by 8-3 Florida State at 16 and 7-4 Florida barely making the cut at 23. USC, LSU and OU are going to once again sit atop the pre-season rankings next year, and Auburn will be a strong contender again also. This means more recruits leaving FL, and more out of state recruits choosing to stay out of FL.

And finally, all of this Notre Dame talk reminds me of the 1997 Independence Bowl where the Irish had a rematch against the mighty Bayou Bengals of LSU, who were seeking to avenge a loss earlier in that season. LSU was sporting non-traditional white helmets and went on to humiliate the Irish by the score of 27-9 in front of a very partisan crowd in Shreveport, LA. I would have to say, this was the beginning of the end of Notre Dame football that we are seeing today.
And as a Tiger fan who bleeds purple and gold, i will close off by saying GEAUX TIGERS!