Michigan Who?

Ahh, the first week of college football has come and gone and everyone is talking about it. Talking about how No. 5 Michigan lost in a huge upset to little Appalachian State, how Indiana State got trounced by yearly Big Ten bottom feeder Indiana University and how great Georgia Tech looked last week.

Wait. You didn't hear about Georgia Tech? You mean if you weren't a Notre Dame fan, you didn't even know Georgia Tech even played them?

Well, unless you watched the games I mentioned above, all you really heard was how bad the big-time teams were. But why not raise a glass to those teams that did well?

Because the media often feel that's not as big of a story. In no other sport could a team claim the title of reigning NCAA tournament national champions and still be such underdogs.

This is the same system that a team can start out the season ranked tenth, but actually fall a spot in the rankings after winning by 32 points and the No 5 team dropping out of the top 25. But enough with that, that's another column.

All we want to hear about is how a select few that have a powerhouse tradition, and in turn the only ones with a chance for the BCS title, triumph or fall. And when they fall? Oh we love to see them fall.

I'll admit it; last year when everyone was talking about University of Southern California and its greatness and they lost in the final week to California, I couldn't have cared less who they were playing. I just loved to see USC go down. I fell into the trap.

But California worked hard to take USC down and played hard defense to force errors on the Trojan offense. We focus on the big dogs, but that's not the whole story.

So here's to you, Indiana University. James Hardy was a speed demon and picked apart defenses like Torry Holt and would have had a fourth touchdown had Kellen Lewis not thrown that pass an inch too far. Here's to you, Appalachian State. You may be Division I-AA, but no one can take you lightly anymore. You showed speed and brilliance and Michigan has raised the alert level on you.

And here's to you, Georgia Tech. Your defense that claimed nine sacks and forced three fumbles is still making Irish fans everywhere twitch.

And here's to you, Indiana State, Michigan and Notre Dame. Better luck next time.