Soooo....Weis?

up7587 wrote:And this week, UW plays ND. What to do, who to root against?

How do you other PN'ers resolve these types of conflicts, when either two hated rivals play each other, or two favorite teams meet?

I experienced an eerily similar situation last weekend when USC played UW. I am from Spokane and WSU is my Pac-10 team; I hate UW. Also, I am a human being from somewhere other than LA*; I hate USC. Not only were these two teams playing each other, but they were playing a very tight game.

With some help from a friend I came to the following conclusion: If I had to choose a side to root for I would choose UW because, since USC was ranked, it would mess up USC's season more than losing to USC would mess up UW's season. That being said, I didn't have to choose so I didn't; I was blissfully ignorant. I still won't bring myself to say "Go UW!" or "Go USC!"

Problem solved? Kind of. Logically, I knew who I would choose if I had to choose. Emotionally, it is a draw; I won't bring myself to cheer FOR either of those teams. Just against.

*I'm sure there are USC fans from outside LA.

UP XC alum Ryan Grote calls ND the University of Portland of the Midwest. LOL. Way past time to cut the umbilical cord, IMHO.

mattywizz wrote:Always root for the team in your conference...unless of course you are in the WCC, you can NEVER root for Gonzaga.

Quoted for emphasis!

You have to root for the Pac 10 if you are a fan of any Pac 10 school. Outside of USC, the Pac 10 gets no respect from those east of the rockies. A win against ND by an average or worse Pac 10 team might just help get some respect.

That being said, Washington has no chance. They beat USC, but USC has been less that impressive. USC's only quality win is against Ohio State, but Ohio State doesn't play another ranked team until November so we don't know if they are any good yet. Bottom line is the Fuskies are still a terrible team and ND should beat them handily.

I understand the root for your conference team in non-conference games, but I don't always follow that rule. If a conference team I don't care for (i.e., UW or USC) is playing, I generally have no problem rooting against them. While you need the "conference strength" argument when it comes down to BCS time, the thing you really need is for your team to win games. So, for me, what I really care about is Oregon winning games. UW beating ND will not change peoples' minds out here or back east, and won't faacor into UO getting into a BCS game. Honestly, they don't care about the pac-10, and a team in the pac that is not USC will have to have an impressive one loss season to get respect. That's how it is. That said, I always root for anyone in the pac who is playing a big 10 or sec opponent (or bi 12 for that matter). Being in Big 11 country with wozzy, I am dumbfounded by how good people think the Big 10 teams are. The Big 10 this year is unbelievably average, top to bottom.

As far as the actual game goes, I too think ND should win. BUT, they were without there top three offensive performers against Purdue (Floyd, Allen, and Clausen for most the game). ND's offense is by far its strength. They should be able to move the ball, as backup QB Crist looked plenty serviceable, and Golden Tate is pretty money. Also, Clausen and Allen may play, so you never know. If I were a betting man, I would say ND by a touchdown or 10 points, but I won't be surprised if it goes down to the wire......again.

up7587 wrote: Plus, I just can't stand Charlie.

How am I supposed to take this?

Rochin54 wrote:

up7587 wrote: Plus, I just can't stand Charlie.

How am I supposed to take this?

The plain meaning of the words!

What can I say, 7587 just summed up my feelings that I've had reserved toward Charlie for a LONG, long time...

DaTruRochin wrote:What can I say, 7587 just summed up my feelings that I've had reserved toward Charlie for a LONG, long time...

Weis...or??

I'll let you be the judge of that.

blacksheep wrote:You have to root for the Pac 10 if you are a fan of any Pac 10 school. Outside of USC, the Pac 10 gets no respect from those east of the rockies. A win against ND by an average or worse Pac 10 team might just help get some respect.

That being said, Washington has no chance. They beat USC, but USC has been less that impressive. USC's only quality win is against Ohio State, but Ohio State doesn't play another ranked team until November so we don't know if they are any good yet. Bottom line is the Fuskies are still a terrible team and ND should beat them handily.

I'm a fan of both teams, and I would say that Washington does have a chance for several reasons. First of all, USC's season is mirroring last year when Oregon State upset them after USC beat Ohio State. I'm not convinced that USC won't run the table in the Pac-10. UW lost to an underrated Stanford team that is playing solidly right now. ND doesn't lose often at home, but, even as a fan of the team, I don't trust Weiss too much as a coach. I'm just not sure he gets the college game, and I think that Sark does get it. Belloti (as much as I hate Oregon) got it. Weiss still doesn't let his players celebrate enough. They celebrated in their bowl game in Hawaii, but, not since then. I don't see an ND team that plays with much flair. They allow other teams to stay in games, and that's one of the reasons UW has a very good chance.

I just don't think Washington beating USC was that great an accomplishment this year. USC did not impress last week against WSU. They just don't look like the USC of old.

They have less experience with having a rookie QB, but, other than that what has changed from last year? This team just reloads. So, they were upset by UW. They beat Ohio State on the road and were upset just like last year (when they lost to OSU). The pattern is the same. It's tough to get motivated and roll on all cylinders against a team as bad as WSU. I still see USC winning the Pac-10 until someone dethrones them. No one else has near as much depth. I say that though I loathe USC.

athleticjames wrote: I still see USC winning the Pac-10 until someone dethrones them.

That is how it works.

mattywizz wrote:

athleticjames wrote: I still see USC winning the Pac-10 until someone dethrones them.

That is how it works.

Yes, I stated the obvious, but, I just don't see Oregon, Cal, or anyone else getting the job done. Oregon needs to prove that they are just as good on the road as they are at home. I'm not convinced that USC is that much worse than they were last year. They were upset on the road after a big victory against Ohio State 2 years in a row...just to different opponents: OSU and UW. They lost a lot of players to the draft, but, they always do. It's just wishful thinking to picture USC as worse than last year, but, that doesn't mean that some team won't be in it until the last few weeks of the season like Oregon State was last year.

Haha well The OSU's bowl record might indicate they aren't what anyone thinks they are... That "big" win might not really be too indicative of anything.

Guess what I saw today? I saw a team get three chances to score from the 1/2 yard line and get stopped. (I did think they scored a TD on the play before, but somehow the runner was ruled down). Then they got three more tries when the D committed a personal foul on the FG attempt and they still didn't get it in. This team eventually lost in OT.

Boy, football is a fun game.

Yeah, that called back TD that would have put said team up by 12 with 7 to go... In no way did it affect the outcome of the game... You know its bad when the uber-homer NBC guys say it was a bad call...

Side note: I'm pretty sure Weis has the biggest potty mouth this side of Gary Payton... I don't think they zoomed in on him once without showing him uttering some variation of a word rhyming with tuck....

DaTruRochin wrote:Yeah, that called back TD that would have put said team up by 12 with 7 to go... In no way did it affect the outcome of the game... You know its bad when the uber-homer NBC guys say it was a bad call...

Side note: I'm pretty sure Weis has the biggest potty mouth this side of Gary Payton... I don't think they zoomed in on him once without showing him uttering some variation of a word rhyming with tuck....

Garry Payton's a potty mouth?

The same announcers kept going on and on about ND's great D...the D that gave up like 450 yards on the day...

They cut to Weis as they were going to commercial for a TO. He was bent over looking like he was going to hurl.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:The same announcers kept going on and on about ND's great D...the D that gave up like 450 yards on the day...

Haha my take on that is, the NBC crew is pretty much the national equivalent of the FSN crew from Spokane...

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:They cut to Weis as they were going to commercial for a TO. He was bent over looking like he was going to hurl.

That's funny, becuase every time they cut away to Weis I instantaneously bend over and hurl.

Rochin54 wrote: I personally thought this year was a 9-3 year, with a loss to USC and two others.

Just looking at ND's schedule, and it looks like they even have a possibility of 10-2. USC is the only team left in the top 25. Anything less that 9-3 at this point would be a meltdown.

On another note, it was very weird being at a tailgate @ Autzen, and having a whole bunch of duck fans rooting for the Fuskies. Nice to have the guy next to you bring a TV.

Here is why I hate Charlie!! Link

Already lobbying for a BCS berth. Bleh!

I agree that at this point in the season you don't worry about the polls, you just keep winning football games. But you have to admit that the polls are a little crazy right now, especially the coaches poll. Seriously, Iowa behind Penn State? There is no defensible logic behind that. I think ND has a legit claim to being in the top 25, but it doesn't matter to me. Not right now. I guarantee they'll be ranked if they USC loses their next game.

Duck fans rooting for UW!!?? I don't know, I understand that some people don't like Notre Dame, but rooting for UW to beat a team you have zero rivalry with? That doesn't make sense to me.