It was 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3. I had my cup of green tea and a banana walnut muffin as I sat down to watch one of my favorite events of the fall season: BCS bowl selections. Even though my alma mater wasn’t in the picture this year, I couldn’t wait to see what was in store for this season’s bowl games.

So as I sat down and waited anxiously for those 20 minutes to pass, I couldn’t help but wonder what bowl game the un-deserving Irishmen would get this season.

We all knew that with the kind of season that they played, they shouldn’t be getting a good one, but of course Notre Dame always manages to get a good pick. I guess you can call it the luck of the Irish.

This season it was no different. On Jan. 3, Notre Dame kicked off against Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl. This was their first appearance in New Orleans in 15 years.

How did they manage that after losing to both USC and Michigan? Of course those two schools played a fabulous season while Notre Dame simply threw, ran and tackled there way through a mediocre schedule to gain their bid.

The Fighting Irish finished their season 10-2, but those wins all came by beating teams that weren’t even ranked when selections came out. Their losses? They didn’t just lose; they were run all over the field like a bunch of high school players playing against NFL professionals. USC and Michigan both won by 20 or more.

Brady Quinn is the star of the team, but his play is inconsistent and when up against powerhouses of college football, he looks like my nephew playing on his pee-wee football team.

During the game versus USC, Quinn only completed 24-of-48 passes. Emmitt Smith completed more two-step routines on his way to win the “Dancing with the Stars” trophy.
Out of all the teams that Notre Dame beat, only four played in bowl games this year. How many played in a BCS bowl game you might ask? NONE. Not one single team that lost to Notre Dame was good enough to get a BCS bowl bid this season. Why Notre Dame then you ask?

That damn luck of the Irish (and being a conference independent.) It’s been carrying them through for a few decades, when will it simply run out?

About a month ago, Charlie Weis said he was “befuddled” by the fact that his team dropped in ranking (mind you that this was Oct. 21 and the only game they played afterwards was against USC, which was a brutal disaster for the Irish.)

Well Charlie, I was completely befuddled that Notre Dame got a BCS bowl game bid.   
When the night of the Sugar Bowl came, I gathered my entire family over to my apartment to watch all of this go down -- the Tigers versus the Irish. I knew the luck of the Irish was going to run out as soon as the referee blew the whistle to start the game.
In the point spread, Notre Dame was getting 10 points from LSU. Even with those points, it just didn’t prove enough on that wonderful night in my apartment, as LSU ousted the Irish in a 41-14 win.

Quinn’s arm couldn’t even compare to JaMarcus Russell’s during the Sugar Bowl. Russell completed 21-of-34 throws for 332 yards, including two touchdowns.
The third touchdown of the night resulted from a 31-yard throw from Russell, who also had his first rushing score of the season during the Sugar Bowl game.

While Russell showed he’s worthy of a No. 1 draft pick come time, Quinn barely proved he’s in the running. Notre Dames leading man completed only 15-of-35 passes for 148 yards.

So again one must ask, why on earth are the damn Irish so lucky year after year? The money the Irish bring to a bowl game has landed them in contests they have no business playing in for years, and the results – no bowl victories in more than a decade – speak for themselves.

If my wishes come true after the Sugar Bowl game, the luck of the Irish has finally run out.