COLLEGE NOTEBOOK
In the same day, I’ve received letters accusing me of being a Notre Dame suck up and a Golden Dome hater.
This doesn’t happen with any other school. One week there are letters of appreciation from Penn State, Florida, Texas or Southern Cal fans; the next week there are notes of rage from Tennessee, Ohio State, Florida State or UCLA fans.
Only Irish fans get you twice in one day. Only Irish fans read the same words and one comes away smiling; the other, fuming. Fine. Maybe it’s why two guys can sit on a bench in County Cork and argue over a shade of green for four hours with no resolution.
For the record, I couldn’t care less if Notre Dame wins or loses, although it is good for college football when Notre Dame is having a good season.
For the record, neither Brady Quinn nor Jeff Samardzija are on my Heisman Trophy ballot this year. Other quarterbacks – UCLA’s Drew Olson – and other receivers – USC’s Dwayne Jarrett – have had better seasons. Quinn and The Shark will be contenders next season.
For the record, no program has the benefits Notre Dame enjoys. It is only the Fighting Irish that have their own television network. It is Notre Dame, and only Notre Dame, that has its own clause in the BCS contract.
It is Notre Dame that has enough cache to join a conference (read: Big East) in all sports and retain its football autonomy. It is Notre Dame that has a national recruiting base and the most powerful subway alumni in the country.
This is why the Fighting Irish, who have one more loss and sit behind Oregon in the BCS rankings, will play in the Fiesta Bowl ahead of the Ducks. The Fiesta Bowl probably will match Notre Dame against two-loss Ohio State, which is rated higher than Oregon in the BCS and has greater national appeal.
The only thing greener than Notre Dame is money, and that’s what the bowls are all about. For example, Boston College is the fourth-place team in the Atlantic Coast Conference and tied with FSU for first place in the Atlantic Division.
But, because most of the ACC’s bowl tie-ins are with games in the South, BC is not considered appealing. The Eagles are hoping Gator Bowl officials, who have locked up Louisville, believe they can sell enough tickets to invite BC. If not, the Eagles could end up in the Peach Bowl or San Francisco’s Emerald Bowl, which is designated for the eighth-place ACC team.
As for Notre Dame, Ohio State should be a great matchup. But if the bowls would listen, how about this: Notre Dame-Penn State in the Fiesta; LSU-West Virginia in the Sugar; Virginia Tech-Ohio State in the Orange; Oregon-Auburn in the Cotton Bowl; Miami-UCLA in the Gator Bowl.
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Unless he leads UCLA to an upset of Southern Cal this weekend, Bruin quarterback Drew Olson, who wasn’t even expected to be the starter this season, probably won’t get an invite to come to the Big Apple for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. That would be a shame.
Olson, who came back from reconstructive knee surgery, leads the nation in passing efficiency, ahead of Louisville’s Brian Brohm, USC’s Matt Leinart and Quinn. Olson has thrown 30 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Wow.
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Remember: Until next week he’s just a freshman, only a sophomore and still a junior.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com
