Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/204831
the fifth quarter lou somogyi Ready Or Not, Dragons Must Be Slain "Great moments are born from great opportunity." — Team USA head coach Herb Brooks, from the 2004 movie "Miracle" F ear of failure can be a tremendous motivator. It can also be the greatest constricting force in life. That dichotomy currently exists among followers of the Notre Dame football program when it comes to 2013 bowl prospects. It comes through this question: "Would you rather see Notre Dame return to a BCS game this year and probably absorb another 42‑14 type of shellacking from a program 'out of its league,' or would you prefer the sec‑ ond- or third-tier bowl where you will be expected to win and then feel better during the offseason?" The easy and safe answer is the sec‑ ond option, although that could create what is known as false confidence or even fool's gold. Still, the path of least resistance in anything is generally pre‑ ferred. Even before last year's BCS National Championship Game massacre at the hands of Alabama, there was popular nation-wide opinion that there were five or six SEC programs that would whip the Irish, who were about to be exposed by the Crimson Tide. When the 42-14 debacle occurred, it validated that while Notre Dame val‑ iantly strives to run with the big dogs, it really should stay on the porch with In the 1970s, Notre Dame topped elite programs USC, Texas and Alabama to claim a pair of titles, the first of which came in 1973 under head coach Ara Parseghian. file photo its own kind. Four times in the BCS era since 1998 Notre Dame was deemed good enough to be invited to run with the BCS big dogs. Four times it was sent back to the porch with its tail firmly en‑ sconced between its legs, to the tune of losing by an average of 25.3 points per game.