Reel time

 And now they're sucking me in again, and here we go. I cannot defend myself, not against Rockne and Leahy and Marchy Schwartz, not against Bertelli and Rice and the Baby Bombers, Hanratty and Seymour. 

There stands George Gipp, beckoning from the pool table. There are the Four Horsemen, riding me down at the finish line. Walt Patulski is collapsing the pocket on me from one edge; Ross Browner is bringing it down from the other.

And so I must succumb.

I must be seduced by those Irish eyes, batting at me with such allure.

I must consider that Notre Dame maybe ... possibly ... might have a shot at beating No. 1 Clemson tonight.

I know, I know. We've down this path before. Once again we've been reeled in by big wins over Pitt or Louisville or Florida State. Once again we think this time is finally the Irish's time, after three dry decades.

And then they go out and get whomped 42-20 or something.

Ah, but this time ...

This time Clemson comes into all that lore and statuary and irresistible Notre Dame-ness without the best player in college football, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who's been felled by the Bastard Plague. They're playing a true freshman quarterback (D.J. Uiagalelei). And they're coming off a struggling come-from-behind win, at home, over a decent-but-not-great Boston College team.

The Irish, 6-0 and ranked No. 4, await.

Cue the clip of Herb Brooks telling the U.S. Olympic hockey team, "This is your time."

Or ... not.

Not, because after his team fell behind B.C. by 18 last week, Uiagalelei gave a very un-freshman-like shrug and went to work. He led the Clemsons all the way back, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns and busting a keeper for 30 yards and another score. And suddenly everyone remembered that D.J. Uiagalelei was a five-star recruit from California, that he stands 6-4 and weighs a robust 250 pounds, and that he's an extraordinarily confident young man.

I don't know if all of that adds up to another whomping for the Irish, and more embarrassment for me. But I do think this Irish team can hang with the Clemsons this time, and maybe add another chapter to all that Notre Dame lore.

Argh. There I go again.