Well, at least they won't have to worry about losing 10 straight bowl games.

At least they won one game...

I absolutely hate Notre dame and cherish their loses. The symbol of what is wrong with college football, a big name power that hogs the best players. Yet they really have been bad lately, which is fortunate.

Unmatched tradition. More championships and Heismans than any school that matters (don't feed me any of that Ivy League crap). Sure, they have a few cupcakes on their schedule (though Navy is for tradition purposes mostly). But they also schedule Michigan, USC, Purdue, Washington, Michigan State, Tennessee, and Pitt. Every team schedules cupcakes, it's the nature of college football. When judging a program, it's not fair to just look at the past 5 years. The Irish have fallen on hard times (mostly the late 50's, early 60's) and have risen again. All of us are lucky enough to witness Charlie Weis resurrect the program. As a final note, the campus is awesome.

Charlie Weis has brought ND back to it's glory days.

Most overrated team in any sport, at any level.

11 National Championships. 7 Heisman Trophy winners. Effectively tied with Michigan for all-time winning percentage (within 3-4 games over a 100+ year period, changes every couple of years depending on trends) There is no greater team in the history of college football. Period. Not even close. All other ratings to the contrary are simply jealous of Notre Dame's success.

use to be a decent team, but those days are long gone. They aren't even on the radar anymore as a mediocre team. Use to be some good games played between them and bama, but notre dame has turned into nothing more than a bunch of wanna-bes. Alabama has more ncs and tradition than nd would ever hope to have

Greatest program of all-time, hands down. More national championships than anyone, more Heisman trophy winners than anyone, etc. GO IRISH!

Have'nt played a decent game since 1887, The Fighting Irish, whats that all about, useless team in the fall 2004 season. Also they should be wearing green uniforms if they have an Irish background, Notre Dame's RUGBY team are better............

Notre Dame is Football, that simple. Regardless of the recent troubles (Notre Dame struggled in the early 60's, too). NFL would not exist if it weren't for Notre Dame. College Football would not exist if it weren't for Notre Dame. You can hate Notre Dame, but if you love Football you have to respect Notre Dame. p.s. Notre Dame has 8 national championships in the modern era, after 1936. Notre Dame has 11 total and 19 seasons that they where considered national champions in a respected pole. You can hate the Irish, but let the facts speak for themselves. I hate the Yankees but I respect them as a team.

It has gotten to the point for Golden Domers that 6-5 is considered a good season. Not even the best team in Indiana any more.

i think they need to recruit that now 50yr old kid named 'rudy' .....notre dame is made up of a bunch of pretensious bastards who have to live their dreams through an overrated football team.....give me a break

Brutal Schedule

Keep an eye on #9 Zbikowski, he was a HS QB and can really run as he proved with the 76 yard snatch and run TD!!

Their surprise upset of Michigan could let them be a good team again.

As college football teams go, my seething hatred for Notre Dame is up there with idiot Michael Moore and the awful Friends. My main reason I hate the Crying Irish or Lying Irish or Money-grubbing Irish is that every Notre Dame Grad I have ever met have been the rudest and downright meanest cretins I've known. One guy, who was once my boss and a HUGE Notre Dame alum and fan, was such an abusive a**hole, I may just offer him out if I ever see him again. But I hate Notre Dame for so many other reasons. They only remain an Independent because they extort NBC for Mega-Millions for TV rights. In return, NBC Sports feature event is airing a very lousy football team. But when the ACC was throwing BIG Jack $$$ in front of Notre Dame's booger-encrusted nose, the Irish suddenly felt the dire need to be affiliated with a football conference (even though, I can't figure out how a school in Indiana figures to be an ACC school. Thus they were able to extort even more JACK from NBC. Notre Dame claims all of their tradition, like Knute Rockne, the Gipper, the Four Horsemen, and plays their stupid fight song over and over. And lemmings throughout the nation soak it all up, paying millions for Notre Dame merchandise even though 90% of those who buy it never went to Notre Dame or even know where Notre Dame is. There is no magic or ghosts surrounding ND's success in the 70s and 80s. It's all a lie. Read Under the Tarnished Dome. You'll see that Notre Dame's program is not that different than Miami's Program in the early 90s or Oklahoma during the Switzer years. So when the administration finally cracks down on Notre Dame Football's transgressions (it is a Catholic school, for God's sake), now they whine about how their now rigid admissions and academic standards had made the playing field unlevel in NCAA football. The actual fact of the matter is, nobody, who can play football a lick, wants to go to this school anymore when they can go to a real school. So where does that leave the Losing Irish -- they stink. They have had losing records in 3 of the past 5 years, even though they continue to schedule stiffs like Navy, SMU, and Air Force. They are the only College Football team to lose their last 6 Bowl games. Already in '04, they lost to a horrible BYU. They have no offense. They play Michigan this week. ESPN has such little regard for ND anymore, that they pulled the Mich-ND game from their Gameday broadcast because they know it's going to be a rout for Michigan. Notre Dame can easily go 2-9 this yeat. Here is a new Nickname for Notre Dame: Team Irrelevant.

always HATED this team with a passion, miami and florida state are the only teams that come close to this team in terms of my distaste. im just glad i got to see michigan bury them 38-0 last year. cant wait to see michigan run it up on the catholics again this year =)

Hope they lose every game. firetywillingham.com

very overated

We'll see if the first part of last season or the final three games was the real ND. Let us pray!

CLASS PROGRAM

notre dame is an alabama wannabe

Carlyle Holliday is the worst QB in Notre Dame history, and that is a huge insult seeing that they never had a good QB.

Tyrone Willingham has shown how good of a coach he is by completely exceeding everyone's expectations. They should be a lot better with the recruits he can land.

Have you seen their schedule this year? - ND might be 1-5 by mid season.

finally a good schedule

It's just to bad that they lost Lou Holtz. How can you let a program go so far down in tradition? It must be a problem with the administration. It's good to see that they're coming back.

A unique ability to come together and treat a team offensively. All of the people and audience love them. The reason that I gave them a five is 'cause they truly never give up 'till the end and never forget to start the game with a strike.

Notre Dame is the greatest college football team that ever lived in my opinion. They even made a movie about them. You might have heard of it, "Rudy".

Notre Dame is not only my favorite team but I also respect the way the program runs. They turn themselves in for violations, education comes first. The history and tradition epitomizes what college football all about!

Notre Dame carries a rich football tradition that over the past 60 years or so has led to the "lure of Notre Dame." They have a full season TV contract, is one of the top educational facilities in the world, and have the respect of every team in the country. So why is it they can't win a recent national championship? There's no reason why they shouldn't be national contenders every year.

I foresee a long, painful season for the Irish in 2000

Any luster still associated with the program was erased with the sanctions imposed by the NCAA. They can no longer hold themselves up on a pedestal and claim to be above it all. They're just another college football team; no more, no less.

Just trading on name recognition - haven't been good for 5 years.

Legend

The Greatest History of any college, pro, or HS football team ever. The legacy of ND will never be parrelled!

Notre Dame is going have an awesome year, they're already kicking ass.