Notre Dame 32, Toledo 29

That was a crushing victory, if by "crushing" one means "a game that was nearly thrown away, and that was only saved with a touchdown pass with 1:09 to go. Notre Dame made tons of mental errors in the game, but - fortunately - they were a strong enough team to still escape with a win. Barely.

But "barely" is good enough, and better than, say, Ohio State did, so Notre Dame will be moving up in this coming week's rankings.

Record so far: 2-0 (10 to go, not counting the BCS playoff)

Next victim: Purdue

Tune time!

Notre Dame to Fire the Toledo Rockets back to Spain

Toledo is the name of a town in Ohio and not only in Spain, and the football team from the former location will wish they were they were overseas by the time the #8 Fighting Irish are through with them. The game starts in half an hour, and, tragically, is only being shown on the Peacock network (NBC's streaming channel). Sometimes one can find a live feed and a radio broadcast, however, so all true football fans who don't feel like chipping into the NBC coffers may be able to find other ways to experience the destruction.

Go Irish!

Notre Dame 41, Florida State 38 (in OT)

Another crushing victory by the Fighting Irish, who gave away an 18-point lead just to make it interesting before pulling it out in overtime. For the sake of their fans, though, it would be nice if they would just put the losing team away when they have the game under control. Their defense seemed AWOL for much of the game, too, but it may turn out that Florida State has a genuinely impressive offense. Time will tell as the season goes on. The bottom line: a win's a win; we'll take it.

Record so far: 1-0 (11 to go, not counting the BCS playoff)

Next victim: Toledo

Tune time!

Notre Dame to Defeat a Herd of Florida Men Tonight

Yes, I'm afraid so: the college football season is underway, and it's time once more to celebrate the greatest football team in college history, the team bound to win the 2021-22 BCS Championship: the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. For those of you who are new to this blog, every college football season I post a bunch of tongue-in-cheek nonsense boosting Notre Dame football, talking smack before the game and celebrating afterwards when they win. For those who are already familiar with the routine, it's absolutely sincere and there's nothing facetious about it whatsoever.

To the matter at hand: at 7:30 p.m. ET (15-20 minutes from now) the 9th-rated Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off against Florida State, generally one of the nation's top teams despite a poor 2020 campaign. Notre Dame will win, of course, and the only question is whether they'll win convincingly or in a massacre. Tune in on ABC and find out!

Good News, Critical Information

Not about my family's health crises, which are ongoing. But let's have a little fun on the lighter side of things--I just came across this story, which will warm the hearts of all those who have one.

Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14

Ok, not great. Not embarrassing, especially after the horrible start, but not good enough. But "we" are getting closer - wait 'til next "year" (season)!

Notre Dame to Stem the Tide, Starting Shortly

Yes, you knew it was coming! It's playoff time, and the #4 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take on #1 Alabama, starting in about 15 minutes. It's time for ND to finally get the monkey off their back and punish the Crimson Tide, and we can watch the Tide get rolled on ESPN.

Go Irish!

Notre Dame 10, Clemson...

Never mind. (But if you must know: 34.) Was there a football game this Saturday? I must have missed it, and Notre Dame seems to have missed it as well. The good news is that the selection committee didn't ignore the rest of the season, including Notre Dame's win against Clemson in their previous game a few weeks ago, and gave the Fighting Irish a berth into the playoff anyway. Notre Dame is #4, which means they'll have the opportunity to stem the Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked #1 since Notre Dame knocked off Clemson. Clemson will play Ohio State, so it's conceivable that there will be a third battle between ND and the Tigers. Conceivable, but not if the Irish play the way they did on Saturday.

So, we'll see. If the right Notre Dame team shows up on January 1, they'll have a chance; if not, then it could get ugly.

Ok, enough objectivity. Come January 1, it will be back to proper smack talk. Go Irish!

Notre Dame to Defeat Clemson...Again

They never learn! The #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will defeat the #3 Clemson Tigers today, starting at 4 p.m. ET. The beating will be televised on ABC. Go Irish!

Notre Dame 45, Syracuse 21

A bit sloppy at times, but the skill differential was too great. That's it for the regular season, as other teams' COVID issues led to one game's cancellation, so it's on to the conference championship next week and the national championship semi-final after that.

Record so far: 10-0

Next victim: TBD; Clemson if they win tonight; otherwise Miami if they win their last two games.

Tune time!