What a Difference a Year Makes

Notre Dame's offense did not seem to click all day, as there were a number of dropped passes, poorly thrown passes, ill-timed penalties and two short field goals missed. Despite the mediocre play from the offense, the defense held the pathetic Syracuse offense in check and Notre Dame cruised to a 34-10 win. This game showed two things. One, Syracuse was as sucky as advertised, as they were completely out of this game at halftime even though Notre Dame was doing everything possible to keep them in this game. Two, Notre Dame's offense can have an off day and yet still compile some impressive stats. They finished with 420 yards of total offense. Brady Quinn threw for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns. Darius Walker ran for over 120 yards. The funny thing about this year's offense is that an off day for this year's offense was a great day for last year's offense. All that now separates the Irish from a Fiesta Bowl bid is an average Stanford team. I think it's safe to start booking those hotel rooms and airline tickets.