Lot At Stake For Irish

Hey, if you think Notre Dame-Michigan is the center of the college football world, brace yourself. This game is huge, but it’s not the only one generating national attention. In fact, by late Saturday night we should have a pretty good idea of who most of the national title contenders are.

Of course, the No. 2 Irish and the No. 11 Wolverines will make for compelling drama, even if no one wants to stir up anything with inflammatory comments. Notre Dame is favored by more than a touchdown and if it wins decisively, it might start pulling some No. 1 votes away from top-ranked Ohio State.

As far as the other huge games, you have No. 6 LSU at No. 3 Auburn, No. 17 Miami at No. 12 Louisville, No. 15 Oklahoma at No. 18 Oregon, No. 24 Texas Tech at No. 20 TCU, No. 19 Nebraska at No. 4 USC and No. 7 Florida at No. 13 Tennessee. Just missing is a very good Clemson team at No. 9 Florida State.

What impact will this have on the Irish? Not much if they keep on winning. An impressive performance against Michigan will help them hold off the likely voter enthusiasm slippage expected to come with games such as Navy, North Carolina, Air Force and Army.

This is a chance for Notre Dame to make a major, major national title statement. It won’t blow it.