Because everyone and their brother (little or not) will contemplate running for the hills as they see -- or think they see -- a repeat of 2009. A BigTen collapse. More losses against average teams. Etc. Etc. Etc. 2010 will begin to look an awful, awful lot like recent unpleasant history.
I hope we unload on Iowa, too. And I've been a big RR supporter all along. Losing 3 times in a row to Sparty, however, is unpleasant as hell and not acceptable. I'm tired of hearing about bad luck, youth, etc. It may be true -- but can't a great coach (which I've always thought he was) come up with a way to make up for that? For once I'd like to see a quality win against a quality rival (ND wins involve a rival, but -- of late -- a low-quality rival). We've had none since '07.
If we don't unload on Iowa, does this team's psyche (and mine, and that of many fans) just run down the drain? All the ghosts of last year (you know . . . those ghosts cackling on your shoulder right now) will come rushing back, no? And so Iowa is extremely important. And so I really hope you're right. I want RR to be successful, and I've always believed he would be. But my faith is being severely tested.
I certainly hope most of you are right. To me, this looks like a complete disaster. Being 0 for whatever against Sparty in the early/mid 60s when they were kings of the college football world was one thing. Being 0-3 against Sparties that seem to finish 7-6 each year (this year they're better, I admit) is unacceptable. This is SPARTY we're talking about, not OSU, Nebraska, etc. I know we're young. I know we've had bad breaks. But I also know in my marrow that we're supposed to beat Sparty: it's like breathing -- when it doesn't happen, I panic. Death, taxes, beating Sparty -- constants in life. Sigh.
Anyway - I hope you're all correct and this team will regroup. Until I see that happen, I fear an end not unlike last year's. This is eerily similar.
Recent Comments
Because everyone and their brother (little or not) will contemplate running for the hills as they see -- or think they see -- a repeat of 2009. A BigTen collapse. More losses against average teams. Etc. Etc. Etc. 2010 will begin to look an awful, awful lot like recent unpleasant history.
I hope we unload on Iowa, too. And I've been a big RR supporter all along. Losing 3 times in a row to Sparty, however, is unpleasant as hell and not acceptable. I'm tired of hearing about bad luck, youth, etc. It may be true -- but can't a great coach (which I've always thought he was) come up with a way to make up for that? For once I'd like to see a quality win against a quality rival (ND wins involve a rival, but -- of late -- a low-quality rival). We've had none since '07.
If we don't unload on Iowa, does this team's psyche (and mine, and that of many fans) just run down the drain? All the ghosts of last year (you know . . . those ghosts cackling on your shoulder right now) will come rushing back, no? And so Iowa is extremely important. And so I really hope you're right. I want RR to be successful, and I've always believed he would be. But my faith is being severely tested.
I certainly hope most of you are right. To me, this looks like a complete disaster. Being 0 for whatever against Sparty in the early/mid 60s when they were kings of the college football world was one thing. Being 0-3 against Sparties that seem to finish 7-6 each year (this year they're better, I admit) is unacceptable. This is SPARTY we're talking about, not OSU, Nebraska, etc. I know we're young. I know we've had bad breaks. But I also know in my marrow that we're supposed to beat Sparty: it's like breathing -- when it doesn't happen, I panic. Death, taxes, beating Sparty -- constants in life. Sigh.
Anyway - I hope you're all correct and this team will regroup. Until I see that happen, I fear an end not unlike last year's. This is eerily similar.
Go Blue!