The Fightin' Irish will take to Soldier Field this Saturday, their historical home away from home for Knute Rockne's 1929 National Championship campaign, during which they went 3-0 in Chicago. Not only will this weekend's matchup feature a meaningful venue, but it also signals the continuation of a longstanding rivalry between Notre Dame and Miami that will now go on into the foreseeable future due to new scheduling commitments with the ACC. The rivalry peaked during the 80s when both football programs consistently fielded elite squads, and the bad blood that ensued branded the matchup between bitter foes as
"CATHOLICS v CONVICTS"
when they met in Notre Dame Stadium with the National Championship on the line in 1988.
To the Notre Dame players who emerged from that battle victorious en route to the 1988 National Title, it was known as "BRAWL MIAMI"... None can explain its significance with more conviction than the legendary Rocket Ismail, who supplies our "Fightin' Words" for the 2012 version of the rivalry in the below MUST WATCH VIDEO:
FIGHTIN' WORDS:
"It was about... hey, this my brother, this my brother,
and some body tryin' to come to our house and disrespect us...
The 4-0 Fightin' Irish will invade Chicagoland this weekend as they take to Soldier Field, a historically significant venue that played a large part in the early history of our program, for a night game against Da U, a historically significant rival that played a large part in the resurgence of our program under Lou Holtz. As droves of faithful fans prepare to embark for the Windy City via the South Shore Line, let us pause to consider the significance of this game in relation to our 2012 campaign...
The Fightin' Irish have not given up a single rushing touchdown this season. The Fightin' Irish have not trailed at any point this season. The Fightin' Irish boast the toughest strength of schedule out of any undefeated team this season. The Fightin' Irish hold a better rank (#9) than any opponent they will face for the rest of the season.
Sounds pretty good, don't it??
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though...
Da U (4-1) comes into this game after a record-breaking day on offense that propelled them to a 44-37 win over NC State last week, and their now-ACC-record-holding QB Stephen Morris (yes, the same Stephen Morris that loved throwing interceptions to Harry Smith in 2010 - see video below) has all the confidence in the world. Luckily, the Convicts' potent offense is offset by a defense that now ranks a dismal 114th out of 120 FBS schools after surrendering 664 yards in that win.
While we should expect out staunch defense to handle Mr. Morris and his Convict cronies relatively well, don't be shocked if they do manage to put up a few points. That leaves it to our offense, returning after a bye week during which they hopefully had the chance to sort things out, to take advantage of the Convicts' Swiss Cheese secondary (NC State racked up 440 yards through the air) and their inability to tackle ball carriers (NC State gained an additional 224 on the ground).
All in all, if we can establish the run early on, we should have no problem running away with this one... SHOULD...
Hopefully all the distractions of the Shamrock Series events (not to mention the early Halloween costumes we will be wearing) don't turn this one into a trap game. If we allow ourselves to come back from our week off lethargic and somehow overlook Da U in anticipation of smoking the Trees next weekend, we might be in trouble.
That's where we, the fans, come in. Despite its listing as a home game, our defense won't have the additional support provided by a student section in Soldier Field (the student allotment totaled a whopping 288 tickets... thanks for showing appreciation where it's due!). It's up to every fan attending the game to make up for that misstep by setting the tone from the get-go. Soldier Field, though appearing somewhat similar to an alien space craft that landed atop its former classically constructed self, fills up quite nicely with sound... much more so than Notre Dame Stadium (no disrespect to the Cathedral of College Football). Let's take advantage of that by BRINGING THE RUCKUS when our boys in Blue & Gold take the field on Saturday.
Creed: Statement of Faith; From Latin Credo "I believe"
The words "Fighting Irish" are a testament to the indomitable spirit that has persisted at Notre Dame throughout history. In an effort to revive that spirit in full, Coach Kelly created "The Irish Creed" to guide Notre Dame Football into the future: "The pride and tradition of Notre Dame Football will not be left to the weak, timid, or non-committed."
