Those damn leprechauns, they are at it again. No sooner does the Ghost of Christmas Present clear out than they are flooding my bedroom with sickly green light, appearing promptly on the stroke of zero dark thirty to whisper things in my ear I know are lies ... or think are lies ... or ...
Hell. I don't know what they are.
I do know this: I can hear 'em.
"The Irish can do this," they're whispering.
"This isn't the 2012 team," they're whispering.
"This team has athletes all over the depth chart, and they have a real quarterback, and no one has seriously challenged them except a couple times when they lost interest," they're whispering.
And then, the kicker:
"Plus, Clemson isn't that good. Really, it's not."
And, OK, yes, now I am almost convinced, in spite of myself. Because a lot of what the damn leprechauns are whispering is true, especially the Clemson part.
Yes, the Tigers are 13-0. But it's almost as counterfeit a 13-0 as Notre Dame's is.
Thirteen wins, and only three came against Division I opponents with more than seven wins. Six of Clemson's wins came against teams with either 7-6 or 7-5 records. One came against 2-10 Louisville. None came against teams with more than nine wins.
This is marginally better than Notre Dame, who beat six teams who were .500 or worse to get to 12-0. But I don't know if this means Clemson should be the prohibitive favorite it is in the Cotton Bowl. I think the wise guys in Vegas might be undervaluing the Irish this time, much as I am loathe to say it because I know what happens every time I say something like this.
"Nah, you're right this time," the leprechauns are whispering. "Vegas is undervaluing us."
Oh, shut up.
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