sportsjabber.net

Vision is often clouded by what lies beneath the golden dome. It’s the echoing hooves of horsemen long past, combined with fading sounds of championship celebration. It’s Notre Dame football, where name alone will spring distorted perception, just as long-traveled myths will often distort the facts.

USC went into Saturday’s game as a 9.5 point underdog, perceived as the same loser in this rivalry a year ago, and possessing a soft record of 5-1. In contrast, the Irish entered at 4-2, with some bad bounces wedged between the current state and season perfection. Notre Dame was said to be the better team on both sides of the ball, and a program, despite its record, straddling the cusp of college football’s elite. But as the light shined bright on a Saturday in South Bend, everything was suddenly in focus and fallacies exposed.

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