Fighting Irish More Than Lucky in Hawaii Bowl Win

I guess 62% of the Big Island's SportsNation, including yours truly, were wrong in assessing the fate of the 2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Meanwhile, the 38% who chose Notre Dame were right on the mark with the points of emphasis in this game, as heard on my show this morning:

- Lack of Discipline by the Warriors

- Better athletes underneath the Golden Domes of Notre Dame

- A win would not be close, whatsoever.

I did say to watch out for some kind of breakout game from QB Jimmy Clausen, didn't I? Yeah, I picked Hawaii to win, but I was afraid of the very kind of game that Clausen delivered on Christmas Eve. He set Notre Dame bowl game records for passing yards and TD's. He even got help from a Warrior secondary that must've sipped on some spiked Egg Nog before kickoff, because they were nowhere to be found all game long.

For Notre Dame, they throw the bowl game monkey off their back, breaking the streak of 9 straight postseason losses, 4 of them to Oklahoma State and LSU alone. All of the questions surrounding Charlie Weis will remain going into the 2009 regular season, but at least now for Irish fans, they will have a bright glimmer of hope for a better campaign than the one they just suffered, highlighted by a loss to the Orange of Syracuse.

And Hawaii? A winning season with a first year head coach. Sure, it wasn't pretty at times, but I think most Hawaii fans will remember the strong end to the regular season rather than the beginning and the ND game and look to games against Cincinnati and Fresno State, for example, as signs that the Warriors will improve and be better. They will have two returning QB's and a lot of promise at other skill positions. But can their defense improve, especially in the secondary? And can they stop committing stupid penalties?

All questions will be answered in 2009.

Until that point in time, I've got three shows left here in 2008 (Christmas Day, the 26th, and the 20th), so I hope you and your families have a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season, and even more so, a prosperous 2009. Our ESPN Radio family appreciates your support and we look forward to bigger and better things to come in '09!