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It’s been about a 1/4 century since Notre Dame has won a national title. Anyway, my point is about specific teams being mentioned in post-season criteria. It’s the same if MLB had a post-season clause: If the Yankees finish over .500 they are automatically in the playoffs because they’ve won 27 championships. If the NFL was like college football they would not have allowed the Arizona Cardinals to have played in the Super Bowl against the Steelers because they played in a weak division and did not have a tradition of winning. I have nothing against any of the teams or players, I don’t really care who ends up winning the title, but the administration of college football is the worst of any organized sport. If Notre Dame ends up being the only undefeated team or one of two undefeated teams then they deserve to be in the national title game. If there are three undefeated teams then I would hope it would be by merit, not by the size of their fan base. If that’s the case then why not just determine playoffs by attendance numbers and television ratings.

Oh, I agree that the system is a joke. Frankly, I like the old way, juts letting them mix it up in the bowls and then voting who is best. That way, several teacms get a chance, and Notre Dame did in 1977, ranked #5 and yet thrashing #1 ranked Texas by 4 touchdowns. They were voted #1.

But, my own point is that Notre Dame is deserving of the attention they get. With 11 or 12 or 18 national titles, depending on how one counts . . . and. as for you "1/4 century," we do not acknowledge the bogus 1993 itle of FSU. We know who won on the field. And the fact remains that they are ranked #3, now. If they can beat USC (a big if, to be sure), their head-to-head with Oklahoma compares to KSU's . . . and ND wins on that basis alone! Whether or not teams are at their best in any given year, it takes some courage for ND to schedule Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, Miami, BYU, Southern Cal, Oklahoma . . . . besides which, teams are always "up" when they play Notre Dame. And, as a schoolteacher, I have absolutely no trouble being an academic snob and reminding you that at Notre Dame, there is no Underwater Basket-Weaving. Someone has to set the standard (ackowledgements to Standford). The "fan base" is there for a reason.