The Irish have been deflated to the point of moral victories and not "playing like a champion", but having the "heart of a champion". Congrats Irish and Irish fans alike! You've just lost to a team that played pretty badly by 14 points! You have arrived. While Weis once said he was done losing to the likes of Purdue, he clearly meant that he was done losing to the likes of Purdue by more than 14.
The UND student paper also has a poll questioning how many Heisman trophies Golden Tate will win (1-4?). Funny- when Selwyn Lymon torched UND with "garbage yards" in 2006, I didn't hear any Purdue fans asking how many Heisman Trophies Selwyn would be taking back to his hometown of Fort Wayne. I guess realism is what differentiates UND from Purdue. While we enjoyed Lymon's performance, we still understood our Boilers lost the game...so it mattered little.
Weeks ago we heard ESPN compare Clausen to Lebron James and Tiger Woods. Well, Lebron didn't start his first NBA season 0-35...and Tiger's first season on the tour didn't result in him being cut on the second day of his first 6 tournaments. This week, UND's observer isn't talking about Clausen's immense talent, they're talking about his heart. I've got bad news for them- Brady Quinn had more heart...and it brought his Irish ZERO bowl wins, and no Heisman Trophies. Further, while BQ got b*tch-slapped all day versus Purdue in 2003 as a Sophomore, he never pulled himself from the game. Conversely, Pickles pulled himself three times. Even Kyle Orton (who many fans question his heart) suffered from a severe hip injury in 2004 versus UW and played two more games before the coaches told him he was done.
Domer fans, if you're reading this (which you're probably not because you're off talking trash to UCLA fans about your heart-filled 0-5 team) understand that your team is as bad as their record states...It doesn't matter which teams you played the first five games. You had the crap beaten out of you by an un-ranked GT team, a beleaguered Michigan squad, an over-rated (later disappointing) Penn State team, an OK MSU team and now an unproven Purdue team.
This time three seasons ago, Domers were running Willingham out of town after Purdue made the Irish 3-2...Ty led your favorite team to a bowl in which you lost. The good news is, you won't have to be embarrassed by any of those pesky bowl losses this season. I guess you can be proud- While this coach may not "win" he does bring moral victories in the form of a "Nasty" football team. They're nasty alright- nasty to the tune of stupid personal foul penalties cheap shots on the opposition's quarterback when you're down by more than three touchdowns (watch the tape). I honestly have no clue why when UND was losing under Willingham, Domers blamed Ty's golf game and his "horrible" recruiting (Brady Quinn, Jeff Smardgjza et. al) and demanded him fired...Oh wait, the two coaches do have one obvious difference; I'll let the reader figure it out.
Congrats on your team's moral victories!!! Also, congratulations on running a good coach (his team has two wins with the number ONE most difficult schedule in America) and a better man out of town for No-Win Chuck!
