Recap: Black Saturday
November 8, 2009
Yesterday was a hellacious one for the Top 25 as some twelve teams stood on the edge of season destruction. From the top five to the bottom of the rankings there were plenty of squads toeing the line between between being upset and escaping by the skin of their teeth. We can call it Black Saturday because it was, without a doubt, the most grim dose of heartbreak that the nation’s elite have seen this season.
As it stands six BCS Top 25 teams went down this weekend and six more were pushed to the brink. It was an exciting day that saw the races in the ACC, Big East, SEC and Big XII clear up and the sprints in the Pac 10 and Big 10 get muddier for the stretch run. Colored by injuries, big plays and marquee performances today was another banner day for the greatest time of the year.
This Black Saturday, told us what we already knew about teams and answered some of our questions about the Top 25. Here are the six eye openers that punctuated the day:
#22 Notre Dame 21
Navy 23
For the anti-Notre Dame contingent out there a collective sigh of relief was emitted yesterday evening as the Midshipmen held off the Fighting Irish to claim their second straight win in South Bend. The Irish defense gave up 348 yards on the ground to the undersized, scrappy Navy squad and while their offense amassed 512 total yards ND was bitten by the turnover bug.
Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate had huge stat days but didn’t get started going until late and by that time Navy had built a 21-7 lead and never looked back. Clausen’s fumble at the goal line helped halt Irish’s attempt to pull within one touchdown at the close of the third and the sack and safety of Clausen with one minute left sealed the game.
On the national scale Notre Dame is essentially eliminated from being invited to a BCS Bowl game. The MWC and WAC are celebrating now as their possibly slot isn’t bullied by the Irish’s presence. On the local scale in South Bend there are three prominent figures who will likely make exits at the season’s end. In a positive light Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen are likely NFL bound as their stock is sky rocketing.
Click Read More for the rest of Black Saturday’s recap…