Not so fast Notre Dame

It's amazing how one (impressive) victory can alter everyone's opinion so fast.

Just 72 hours ago, we were talking about how Notre Dame didn't have a chance against Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. How if the Fighting Irish lost Charlie Weis could still be in trouble of losing his gig as the BIG man in South Bend.

But ND didn't lose. The Irish looked every bit as good as a team stacked with blue chippers and five-star talents should. I watched the game on Christmas Eve and was flabbergasted with how ND looked like an elite team. The Irish were faster, bigger and played with more emotion than the Rainbow Warriors.

And did you see the way Jimmy Clausen played? He set Irish bowl records with 401 passing yards and five TDs as Notre Dame rolled to a 49-21 victory--ND's first postseason win in 15 years.

Now that I've had time to think about it, this performance shouldn't be such a surprise.

Notre Dame should destroy Hawaii. The Irish recruit elite players, who should be able to play at any of the best schools in the nation. Hawaii takes cast-offs like Colt Brennan and hope they develop into stars. What made ND's victory so interesting was that the Irish played with the emotion of a team needing to make a statement--even if it was in a bowl way below ND standards.

Now I'm hearing and reading about how this is the tipping point for ND football. That with all the Irish's returning players next year that they could be a big-time player in college football in 2009.

Bogus.

Remember less than 12 months ago when Georgia entered the Sugar Bowl with all kinds of hype and a chip on the shoulder for not being considered for the BCS Championship? The Bulldogs dominated the miscast Warriors 41-10, and the hype began for the Bulldogs. Mark Richt's team was anointed the favorite for 2008. We all know how well that went for UGA.

Now Hawaii has kick started the Notre Dame hype machine for 2009.

Over at the Bleacher Report, one writer is claiming that ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick's decision to stick with Weis was rewarded with Wednesday's victory. How low have the standards fallen among the Irish faithful that a road win over Hawaii saves a season? Here's how low. Notre Dame used to turn down bowl games like this, especially after a 6-6 regular season. Now they take the game to end bowl losing streaks.

What I think most will remember is that Notre Dame had lost five of its last seven, including an embarrassing 24-23 loss to Syracuse before the bowl win.

There's also talk that Clausen has resurrected his career with this performance. Clausen has a great arm, but he's overrated. Just like his brothers at Tennessee. He'll be the same Jimmy the next two years. Stop the Heisman hype now. He's not that good.

It was a good win. Notre Dame can go into the offseason on a positive note and the coaches can hit the recruiting trail with tales of playing in Hawaii. This isn't anti-ND. This is a reality check. Folks, it was just a win over Hawaii.

ND should have a good record next year. Look at this cakewalk of a schedule (the only tough game is Southern Cal at home). The Irish should be underdogs against Michigan State, Boston College and Pitt.

Notre Dame 2009
Sept. 5: Nevada
Sept. 12: at Michigan
Sept. 19: Michigan State
Sept. 26: at Purdue
Oct. 3: Washington
Oct. 17: USC
Oct. 24: Boston College
Oct. 31: vs. Washington State (at San Antonio, Texas)
Nov. 7: Navy
Nov. 14: at Pittsburgh
Nov. 21: Connecticut
Nov. 28: at Stanford

Even the schedules at Notre Dame have dropped well below Irish standards. So save the resurrection talk until Weis and the Irish win a meaningful game. Looks like the first shot at that is Oct. 17, 2009.