Irish are exposed; Live Chat an hour early
I’ve been beating this drum for a long time so there’s little point in piling on, but, well, I’m gonna get in one last dig.
Manti Te’o and Notre Dame are both really overrated.
While the Irish seemed unfit for the BCS title game, at least they had a perfect 12-0 record on their side. They did what was asked of them to earn their spot.
The case for Manti Te’o for Heisman was much more abstract — something to the effect of ‘He’s the best player on the best defense in the country!’
Notre Dame’s defense is not the best in the country. Not even close. And Manti Te’o might not be the best player on their defense, either.
He was such a complete non-factor last night that I felt bad for him. Anyone who supported his Heisman candidacy had to be embarrassed while watching the game. Te’o spent most of it either standing around, arriving late to the pile, diving after (and missing) ballcarriers, or getting pushed around by blockers. Really, I’m not exaggerating at all. He did absolutely nothing last night. It was stunning. Everyone has a bad night, but I could not believe how badly Te’o failed to make any impact at all in the game. ‘Bama made no effort to avoid him or send extra blockers his way. It was clear they weren’t even the least bit concerned about him.
Sorry, that is not Heisman material (nor is it material worthy of all the other awards he won, but whatever).
If you’re a Notre Dame fan that likes Te’o, that’s fine. I liked it when Justin Morneau won the AL MVP in 2006 even though I knew he didn’t deserve it.
But Te’o’s ascension to national superstar is an indictment on the media and how silly they can be when they fall in love with ‘good stories’.
Te’o was indeed a good story. And he is a good player. He was nowhere near the best player in the country. Nowhere near the best defensive player in the country.
There’s a media bias towards Notre Dame. Period. Whether that got the Irish into the BCS title game is debatable. Whether it got Te’o to the Heisman ceremony is not. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again, but it probably will.
Live Chat is an hour early, at 1 p.m. Have another assignment to get to.
