Ed. Note:  Sparty and Friends has accepted an invitation by Gunaxin.com to join several other sports blogging communities in Gunaxin’s 2008 Blog Bowl.  In addition to creating three entries representing S&F’s projected bowl winners for straight bowl pick ‘em at ESPN.com’s College Bowl Mania, we will be submitting at least one bowl-specific post, such as this one, during the three bowl periods: games between 12/20 – 12/28, games between 12/29 – 1/3, and the games from 1/5 – 1/8.

Our pick ‘em entries will be scored against all the other blog bowl picks submissions and progress can be followed here throughout the remainder of the bowl season.  We also encourage you all to head over to Gunaxin.com and check out the other blog bowl posts.

Now, back to your scheduled program…

2008 BCS FRAUD BOWL

The 2008 BCS FRAUD Hawaii Bowl feature’s the two teams that have had the worst showings over the past 3 years in BCS bowl games. The Irish got blasted by Ohio State in 2006, followed the next season by an LSU domination. Hawaii set non-BCS schools back about 10 years (and cost Boise St. an invite this year) by getting absolutely hammered by Georgia last January in the Sugar bowl.

The Irish have had an up and down season and many people love to slam Charlie Wies and all things Notre  Dame. I have seen every down they have played this year and have watched them go through growing pains: losing by 5 as the clock ran out with the ball at the 10 yard line versus North Carolina, dropping a 4 overtime heart breaker against Pitt, and missing a field goal on the last play of the game after blowing a 13 point, 4th quarter lead at home on senior day versus a horrible Syracuse team. Bang all you want, but they are closer to 9-3 than they are to last years 3-9. It’s easy to hate them, I get that; but to just blatantly say “Notre Dame sucks” is inaccurate. Are they great? Of course not, but they may be better than most think and closer to making a run in the next 2 years than all but the most loyal fans believe. This game is bigger for the Wies and the Irish than any he has coached in the last 4 years.

Is anyone still reading? Since only Notre Dame fans and that weeks opponent’s fans actually watch their games, here are some numbers: 
 - the Irish outscored their opponents by a cumulative 272 to 267 after getting ripped 197-345 last year,
 - after being sacked an NCAA record 43,000 times (barely an exaggeration) in 2007, Irish QB Jimmy Clausen only got hit for a loss 18 times this year,
 - freshman WR Michael Floyd broke every ND receiving record for a freshman, going over 700 yards and scoring 7 td’s, despite missing 2 games,
 - and freshman tight end Kyle Rudolph also had a very nice year, grabbing 25 balls and 2 td’s.

The Irish are loaded with underclass skill players. QB Jimmy Clausen is only a sophomore; and while he can be terribly inconsistent and brutal to watch some times, he has accumulated a ton of experience and may be ready to really shine in this game, propelling him to a very nice year as a junior in the fall. By the way, Brady Quinn sucked until he was a junior as well. Receiver Golden Tate is the best sophomore receiver in the country not named Crabtree and I fully expect the Hawaii Bowl to be his formal introduction to the rest of America. Add in the previously mentioned Floyd, Rudolph and sophomore tailback Armando Allen, and you can see the young core Wies has put together winning this game and setting the stage for a special 2009 season.

Hawaii enters the game with a 7-6 record, not quite the same as the previous 2 campaigns under QB Colt Brennan. The offense scored 314 points this year; a good total, but not even in the same zip code as the 564 from last year or then record 656 from 2006. They lost a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball as well as their coach. QB Greg Alexander is solid if not spectacular, throwing for 1600+ yds with 12 td’s and 4 ints. However, they have no running game…at all.

This is not a home game for Hawaii as many are thinking. Notre Dame travels better than any other team in the country, and has legions of wealthy alumni that won’t blink at the cost of flying to Hawaii for the holidays. The stadium will be inhabited by more than 50% Irish fans. In the end the Irish will out-size and out-speed a very game Hawaii squad, breaking the longest bowl losing streak of all time, currently at 9. Expect a lot of scoring with Notre Dame pulling out a 37-27 victory.

Popularity: 3% [?]