Once again it is time to light the #1 sign atop Grace Hall on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. This past Sunday the #7/10 Irish Women's Soccer team defeated #1/1 Stanford 1-0 for its third national championship in program history.
The Irish have won women's soccer championships in 1995, 2004 and now 2010.
Congratulations are in order for the entire program with a special shout out to Head Coach Randy Waldrum who was extra proud of his team's accomplishment.
Please have the courage to write that this is the best team in the country, not that this was an upset. I know everybody had preordained Stanford as the national champion this year. But I would make the argument that once the NCAA tournament started, the path we took and the way we won games ... we clearly were the best team in the country.
During the six tournament game wins the Irish outscored their opponents 15-1, including handing #3/4 North Carolina its worst loss in more than 30 years (4-1).
Notre Dame had lost its previous two championship game matches in 2006 and 2008.
Freshman Adrianna Leon scored the game's only goal as the Irish knocked off the Cardinal, which lost the NCAA championship game for the second year in a row.
Almost nine full days later and the ND victory over arch-rival USC is still just as sweet. For the first time in eight years, the Irish knocked off the Trojans in the battle for the Jeweled Shilelagh.
Senior RB Robert Hughes came up huge in the final series for ND as the Irish offensive line helped plow the way, dominating a worn out and overmatched USC Trojan defensive line.
At times it was difficult to discern whether or not Hughes was a Jerome Bettis reincarnate or not but make no mistake about it, Hughes put on a show that the aforementioned Bettis would have been proud of.
Notre Dame took command of the game at the end of the 2nd quarter with a pair of 1-yard touchdown passes from Tommy Rees to Michael Floyd and Duval Kamara. Floyd scored with 2:29 remaining and Kamara notched one just before the horn sounded with 0:07 remaining. Kamara's score put the Irish up 13-3 at the half and seemingly in the driver's seat.
But sloppy play in the 3rd quarter allowed the Trojans to tie it up 13 apiece when Mitch Mustain converted on 4th and goal from the 1. It was the first defensive touchdown allowed by the Irish defensive in 13 quarters of play, the longest such streak since 1980.
Tommy Rees, who is undefeated as an Irish starting signal-caller at 3-0, threw 3 interceptions and lost a fumble in an otherwise ho-hum effort. However, when needed, he stepped up on the final Irish drive and connected on two passes to keep the drive alive and help the Irish overcome their short-lived deficit.
Many folks in Trojan land are writing off this loss by saying their team was without its starting quarterback. What those fans neglect to admit or realize is that the Irish were also without their starting quarterback, but instead of turning to a senior who had won 8 games in a row previously turned to a true freshman with minimal experience. Additionally, ND was without arguably the best tight end in the nation in Kyle Rudolph, running back Armando Allen, and nose guard Ian Williams.
Perhaps the biggest callout led by the men and women of Troy is that senior wideout Ronald Johnson dropped what would have surely been a go-ahead touchdown with 1:17 remaining. But with heavy rain pouring down as it had the entire evening Johnson let the ball bounce off his shoulder.
As Coach Brian Kelly said, "It was about time we caught a break."
Moments later, Harrison Smith intercepted a pass to confirm the Irish victory with :36 left.
Fitting that the Irish victory was sealed by its defense, which has gone from bottom-feeder to powerhouse in the matter of one season.
After an abysmal effort against Navy, the Irish D seemed re-energized and determined to show it could handle the triple option as it shut down Army in Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago. Similarly, the Irish D showed up big as the high-octane Utah Utes' offense was also held to just 3 points.
Make no mistake about it, the Notre Dame football team caught fire and did so at the right time of the year, finishing November with a 3-0 record, remarkable considering the back-to-back losses to Navy and Tulsa that preceded the winning streak.
The sweetest of the wins without question is the victory over USC though. In case you missed any of the action, take a look at the highlight clip below. It is slightly over-produced but overall a sound compilation of the moments that led to long overdue jubilation for fans of the Blue and Gold.
Virginia Tech knocked off Florida State 44-33 Saturday night in Charlotte, NC to claim their fourth ACC title since joining the conference in 2004.
The Hokies have won 11 consecutive games since losing to Boise State and James Madison in a span of six days in early September.
ACC player of the year Tyrod Taylor had yet another spectacular game in bringing down the Seminoles.
Taylor completed 18 of 28 passes for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. He added 30 yards and a touchdown on the ground while senior receiver Danny Coale caught 6 passes for 143 yards and a score.
European football that is. Today at noon EST on ESPN2 and ESPN3 the Notre Dame Women's soccer team takes on the Stanford Cardinal in the Division 1 National Championship game.
Hey, you've got to start somewhere, right? While I have showed incredible restraint in delaying my post on the USC victory, I could not pass up this opportunity to light the #1 sign atop Grace Hall.
It's a rematch of the game that has created some of Virginia Tech's highest and lowest moments.
From the 2000 National Championship game that saw the Hokies on the cusp of the crystal football, to an embarrassing loss in the 2005 ACC Championship, Tech and FSU have had a number of memorable games in recent years.
Tonight in Charlotte, both teams vie for an ACC title and an automatic berth in the BCS. the winner heads to the Discover Orange Bowl and the loser wonders what could have been.
Enjoy the games today and let's give a special shout out to Bobby West. His duel citizenship in Blacksburg and Tallahassee always makes for an interesting subplot when these two schools meet in any sport. Choose wisely today sir.
Mike Brey and his squad are off to a strong start this year - one of the best in school history. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball squad improved to 7-0 on the year over the Thanksgiving holiday by defeating Georgia, California and Wisconsin en route to winning the Old Spice Classic.
It wasn't always pretty, as the game against Cal set the NCAA record for lowest scoring (combined) half since the stat started being tracked in the '80s, but the Irish managed to grind out three wins to claim the tournament title.
One of the many joys of the tournament, aside from claiming the championship title of course, was the barrage of Old Spice commercials, like the 'Odor Blocker' one.
Last night the Irish struggled early against Lary Bird's alma mater, Indiana State, before finally pulling away from the Sycamores to notch win number 8 on the year.
At 8-0 the 2010-2011 Irish Men's Basketball team is off to the school's best start in 37 years.
No one saw this kind of a start coming with the losses of Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson to graduation. Jackson was one of the most prolific point guards in Irish history and Luke Harangody was easily the best Irish player since Troy Murphy, perhaps even Austin Carr.
Leadership has emerged from Ben Hansbrough (brother of former Tar Heel and current Indiana Pacers standout Tyler), Tim Abromaitis, and Ty Nash. Carleton Scott has also stepped up at times and Eric Atkins and Scott Martin are beginning to develop into solid contributing roles.
The series of wins propelled the Irish into the AP Top 25, at #25, and supply confidence going into next Wednesday's matchup at AP #10 ranked Kentucky in Freedom Hall.
Kentucky might not have much left in the tank for Wednesday's game as they travel to North Carolina to play the Tar Heels on Saturday, but make no mistake about it the Wildcats are a team worthy of their ranking.
Tune in to ESPN at 9:30p EST on Wednesday to catch the action, and hopefully more great Old Spice commercials like the one below.
