Ok, I didn’t attend Notre Dame or anything, but since I grew up in the Chicago area, I saw a lot of Irish games on TV throughout my childhood. So I kind of feel like I have a “right” to root for them and am not exactly a bandwagon fan.

At any rate, the Irish came into this season ranked No.2 in both the coaches’ poll and the USA Today poll, and there’s definitely a lot of buzz surrounding their BCS championship potential. And who can blame the media or fans? The team has Heisman candidate and future first-round NFL draft pick Brady Quinn at quarterback, All-American Jeff Samardzija and fifth-year senior Rhema McKnight at wide receiver, and 100-yard/game threat Darius Walker at tailback. The defense could be a little shaky, but at least All-American Tommy Zbikowski is back in there. And of course Notre Dame has Charlie Weis directing everything, so it should be a great year for the blue and gold. (Photo Credit: SI.com)

I was very excited to sit down and watch the ND-Georgia Tech game tonight and was happy to see the Irish come away with a 14-10 win. Even though they weren’t nearly as dominant as I’d hoped they’d be and even though Brady Quinn had a forgettable game, I was encouraged by a few things. For instance, the defense held their own and kept the game within reach until Brady and the offense could get things going. Plus, the Irish never seemed to panic, even when they came within 11 seconds of being shut out in the first half. (Photo credit: SI.com)

The close score will probably affect ND’s ranking for the upcoming week and will undoubtedly bring the haters out in full force. But I don’t care about that… I’m just happy they’re sitting at 1-0 right now!