The scores don’t exactly scream out domination.
20-17. 13-6. 20-13. 17-14. 29-26.
Five times No. 1 Notre Dame escaped by a touchdown or less this season en route to tonight’s BCS championship game against No. 2 Alabama, three of those games against unranked teams and two against teams with losing records.
Lucky?
Depends on who you ask.
“Does the luck of the Irish exist? I think there’s something to that,” said ESPN analyst and former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.
“Forget luck of the Irish,” said ESPN’s Mike Golic, a former Notre Dame defensive lineman. “If you go 12-0 there had to be some things during that season that fell your way. It’s going to happen. This leprechaun stuff? Nah.”
Offensive tackle Zach Martin couldn’t escape the suggestion that some otherworldly force was guiding Notre Dame at times through its improbable 12-0 journey.
“People make a big deal out of it because we’re Notre Dame and ‘Luck of the Irish,’ ’’ Martin said. “I heard that a few times.”
None more than the night of Nov. 3 when it appeared leprechauns were everywhere, including referees pockets, during a charmed 29-26 three-overtime victory against Pittsburgh.
Notre Dame received three huge breaks while escaping the upset, the first being a fourth-quarter pass interference call against Pittsburgh that allowed the Irish to retain possession and score on the next play. Only those wearing green and carrying shamrocks in their pockets believe the call was correct.
In overtime, not only did Pitt’s Kevin Harper miss a 38-yard field goal that would have won the game but Notre Dame had two No. 2s on the field, which should have been a penalty giving Harper a second chance from a more favorable distance.
No flag was dropped.
“No one is going to lie to you and say there wasn’t luck involved,” Martin said.
Then there was the ruling during overtime against Stanford that Stepfan Taylor was ruled down before the ball crossed the goal line. The blown call was not reversed and instead of the game being tied (assuming the extra point was good) it ended, with Notre Dame prevailing 20-13.
Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher is the last coach to walk off the field victorious against Notre Dame, in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. Fisher knew then Notre Dame was going to be special in 2012. But this good?
Not without some luck.
“You need some luck; people don’t want to say that,” Fisher said. “A missed field goal, you get a call. … That’s the human element of the game.”
But does luck just happen or do you make your own luck?
Alabama was thought to be lucky during its 2009 national title run when it blocked a 44-yard field-goal attempt by Tennessee on the final play of the game to preserve a 12-10 victory. Of course, Tennessee needed a fumble recovery, touchdown and successful onside kick to set up the field goal.
“Was that lucky or were those guys prepared to take advantage of an opportunity if it came,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I would say it was a little bit more that they were prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.
“Sometimes people think they’re lucky when you’re able to make significant plays at critical times in games. When you have prime-time players that can do that that enhances your chances of being successful.”
Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron notes the Tide needed a little luck the last two years to be in position to win a title.
Alabama worked its way back into the national championship game both years after November losses, needing help to climb back into one of the top two spots after dropping to No. 4 each time.
“I’ll take luck any day if it gets us here,” McCarron said.
Luck or not, Notre Dame’s players would not change a thing during a season in which it rose from unranked to No. 1.
In fact, the Irish will use those close calls against Purdue, Michigan, Stanford, BYU and Pittsburgh to its advantage if tonight’s game is tight.
““We don’t budge or get nervous,” running back Theo Riddick said. “We have been there before. That’s when our poise and confidence comes out.”
Jorge Milian contributed
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