SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Forget all that leprechaun nonsense. Deep-six the George Gipp locker room speech, too.
That mumbo-jumbo about the ghosts of Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen? Save it for Stanford or Syracuse, Notre Dame's last two games.
Playing BYU is enough all by itself. That's been the case for a lot of teams since mid-September when it became obvious this would not be BYU's best season.
"It's OK to talk about it," said receiver Toby Christensen, when asked about the Cougars' offensive troubles. "I just don't know what else I'm going to say."
All that needs to be said is this: One more game and it's home for the holidays. Hard as it is for longtime BYU fans to imagine, the Cougars' season has come down to next week's game against Utah. Go ahead and say it — it's their bowl game.
As longtime football fans in Utah can attest, a win over their biggest rival can take the sting out of the worst of seasons. It can move a year from train-wreck ugly to merely disappointing. That's a long way for one game.
Then again, it's a long rivalry.
"We have Utah this week," said coach Gary Crowton. "It's a rivalry game. It's a big game for us."
BYU's 33-14 loss to Notre Dame Saturday assured back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1970-71. It is also the first time since 1972-73 BYU didn't qualify for a bowl game in consecutive seasons. Last year was supposed to be an aberration. But before the Cougars knew it this season, players were getting injured and plays were being botched. An ulcer on the rise.
What has bothered the Cougars for most of this year continues: no offense. Seven times this year they have scored two or fewer touchdowns, six of them only one. Along the way, they have brightened the seasons of such teams as Stanford, Colorado State and Wyoming.
Then came Notre Dame, a legendary program, suffering through a discouraging (memorable?) season. At Notre Dame, losing seasons are so unexpected they stick in the mind. Who doesn't remember Gerry Faust?
Entering Saturday's game with a 3-6 record including embarrassingly lopsided losses to Michigan (38-0), USC (45-14) and Florida State (37-0), the Irish were more than happy to accept any sort of success.
"Today was not just any old game for BYU or our team," said Irish coach Tyrone Willingham. "It was really important to get a win for our seniors."
Poor record notwithstanding, the Irish unveiled the usual dose of fanfare. The band played the famous fight song enough times to disturb almost anyone's thoughts. A couple of hours before kickoff, Fighting Irish players visited the campus chapel, then walked through thousands of cheering fans on their way to the stadium. Once inside, they were met by the 173rd consecutive sellout crowd, dating back to the early 1970s.
It was stirring, inspiring and everything Notre Dame football is supposed to represent.
As Navy's coach noted prior to playing Notre Dame, the Irish have maybe 30 Parade All-Americans; his team had "30 guys who marched in a parade."
This, however, had no obvious effect on the Cougars. Their only glimpse of the famous golden dome was on the bus ride in. They didn't visit the grotto as did LaVell Edwards' team when it stopped by in 1994 or look at the monuments. It was a work trip.
"I didn't see any ghosts," said Christensen. "But it was pretty cool."
When they first took the field, they looked ready to roll. On their first possession they moved to the Irish 27, but soon the first of three interceptions occurred. On their second possession they lost the ball on a fumble.
Even so, it must have occurred to the Cougars they weren't playing a very good (3-6) Notre Dame team. Through the first 29 minutes and 35 seconds, all the Irish could muster was three field goals. But a pair of crucial BYU penalties intervened, allowing the Irish to score a touchdown before the half for a 16-7 advantage — hardly a commanding lead.
Still, how many times has BYU scored 16 points this year?
In the second half the Irish extended the lead to 19 points.
Without calling on any ghosts.
"I'm not intimidated by anybody," insisted defensive end Brady Poppinga. "We came in expecting to win, but we didn't put it all together. That's been the story all season, and until we do, it's gonna be a rough ride."
But the good news for the Cougars is, from here on out it's also going to be a short one.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com