Dear Notre Dame Fans Who Are As Impatient As I Am About This Damned Season Starting,

I know that as you watched the ticker scroll by on Saturday, the same thoughts flickered in the still-cognizant corners of your mind that flared up for a majority of observant Notre Dame fans:

A lot of the teams we play appear to be really, really bad.

And honestly, that might not be a bad decision.  On the positive side of the ledge rwere Stanford's opening win, Southern Cal's evisceration of Virginia (I hoped you all bet big), Shun White's monster day for Navy and a solid showing by Michigan State on the road in a loss versus Cal,but  the following less-than-stellar occurrences befell other 2008 Irish opponents.

• San Diego State lost on a last-second field goal to Cal Poly.  They rushed for a grand total of 27 yards - this is against I-AA Cal Poly - although Ryan Tindley threw for three touchdowns and 352 yards (along with two picks).  While a 3-9 team must take it one day at a time, I would support an elimination of the Notre Dame football program should it fail to prevail against the Aztecs.
• Michigan almost pulled out a win against the visiting Utah Utes, with their quarterbacking really, really bad.  Their three touchdown "drives" came after a menagerie of fumbles, blocked punts and penalties.  The defensive line was as good as advertised for the Wolverines, however, who held their Mountain West conquerors below a yard per carry.  Brian Johnson managed a good game against a solid Wolverine secondary, and the Wolverine offense will need more than another week before they're humming along at WVU levels.
• Purdue didn't play, just like the rest of the cool kids.
• Ty Willingham's halftime adjustments left a little to be desired and the Ducks outscored the Huskies thirty to love in the second half, winning 44-10.  Washington's sole touchdown came on a second quarter drive that consisted of two worthless runs followed by Jake Locker's magic, but the sophomore couldn't keep it up beyond that one Herculean effort before the Oregon offense started breaking through over and over again.
• Boston College pulled out a 21-0, workman-like victory at Kent State.  A win is a win is a win, and they're replacing a lot of players, but nothing too impressive from the folks on Chestnut Hill, as three turnovers did in the Golden Flashes.  Chris Crane was 12 of 18 for 106 yards and two touchdown runs, but the Eagles only out-first downed their MAC hosts 17 to 12 and outgained them 336 to 260.
• Syracuse hung around for a while, had a second half lead and then got blitzed by Tyrell Sutton and Northwestern to the tune of 30-10.  Quarterback Andrew Robinson was a cover-your-eyes-bad 14 for 28, 103 yards and a pick against a Wildcat defense not known for its stoutness.
• North Carolina barely prevailed over the visiting McNeese State Tigers, triumphing 35-27.  Butch Davis' team is young, so these hiccups are to be expected, but that's a little close for comfort against an opponent they should have been scorching.  Senior Brandon Tate was the trump card, scoring on both a punt return and reception, then tossing in 106 yards rushing on three carries.  Perhaps most embarrassing for the Heels was the fact they turned their preseason festivities into a story that looks like it belongs in The Onion.  After all of that, I'm pretty sure they still might be the best team in the ACC.
• And the  highlight, as always, was Diamond Dave Wannstedt.  A 14-0 lead was not enough against the Bowling Green Falcons, who prevailed 27-17 at an empty Heinz Field in a game where Bill Stull threw a staggering 51 times.  If you'll remember, Wanny had another memorable MAC loss in his second game at Pitt, following up the opening loss to Notre Dame with an overtime failture at Ohio.  One of the biggest problems for the Panthers was on the offensive line, where it turns out Jeff Otah and company may have had more to do with LeSean McCoy's 2007 success than initially thought.

So all-in-all, Irish opponents were underwhelming, with a few 52-to-7 and 348-yard exceptions.  The initial reaction is immediately go to your nearest messageboard and exclaim that 9-3 just isn't good enough for the regular season, but please temper that enthusiasm for one teeny, tiny reason:

The Irish haven't played yet either, and while I'd like to think the San Diego State game is going to be a pallette-cleansing clinic after the debacles of last season, there's nothing for certain.  There's also nothing for certain in regards to the other games, as Stanford looks improved, North Carolina will keep getting better, Michigan State is very dangerous, Southern Cal is still a juggernaut and both Michigan and Boston College looks capable of locking the Irish into a low-scoring, ugly game anyone is capable of winning.

So take a deep breath, get ready for an exciting week leading up to the season opener and stop declaring that we'll be 11-0 heading into the Coliseum at the end of the season.

Happy Labor Day (and XOXO),

~CW~

Good luck, NOLA.  You got this.