Luck of ... well, you know

Because the Blob is not going to use That Phrase again, in relation to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

You know what That Phrase is. It's the oldest Phrase in the book, and it's been used countless times in relation to N.D. It's a cliché now. More than that, it's a cliché that's so old you have to knock the rust off it every time you haul it out.

And blow the dust off it. And scrape layer upon layer of moss off it.

So ... all I'll say, in relation to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, is that sometimes everything just kind of falls into place. It happens.  You line up a schedule that looks semi-daunting, and then nearly everyone on it suddenly has a down year at the same time.

You catch Michigan early, before they get good. You have your off games against teams that aren't good enough to take advantage. You find your quarterback hiding in plain sight, and then he gets hurt and you have to play the backup -- who's pretty good, too, but not, you know, The Guy anymore.

And when does this happen?

Well, not right before the big showdown in Yankee Stadium against No. 13 Syracuse. No, sir.

Right before Florida State But Not Really comes to town.

This Florida State, see, is 4-5 and has lost three of its last four. It's lost its last two games by an aggregate score of 106-38. It lost to a similarly un-Miami-ish Miami Hurricanes team, and struggled to beat a Louisville team (28-24) that's even more of a crash site than the Seminoles are.

In other words, if there can ever be a fortuitous time for such things, this is the most fortuitous time possible for the Irish to have to put their Ian on the Book shelf for a game. Brandon Wimbush -- who was 3-0 this year as a starter before Book supplanted him -- will be more than enough to get the Irish to 10-0. Heck, George W. Bush would probably be enough to get the Irish to 10-0, given the downward trajectory of the Seminoles this last month.

And Ian Book?

Word out of the Irish camp is he'll be fit as a fiddle for Syracuse, the last real quasi-obstacle between the Irish and 12-0.

Sometimes things just fall into place. And if you want to use That Phrase to account for that, be my guest.

After all, it's not like I'm using it.