To the Editor:
Matt Mertens' Sept. 29 article ranting about Notre Dame football is unconvincing and conveniently leaves out facts that would obviously detract from his already weak thesis about why Notre Dame football is "overhyped and overrated."
Mertens began by attempting to deceive readers into believing that Notre Dame's football schedule is easy by deliberately ignoring the superior teams that Notre Dame has already played.
Mertens is quick to mention the softer teams on the schedule, but he should be reminded that through the first five games, Notre Dame has played undefeated teams, including the sixth-ranked Michigan Wolverines (a team that obliterated the Irish) and 24th Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Additionally, Notre Dame's final game of the regular season is a match in Los Angeles against the USC Trojans, the third-ranked team in the country. To otherwise ignore these facts is completely disingenuous on Mertens' part.
I also wish to dispel the notion that Notre Dame was "racist" in its dismissal of Tyrone Willingham and hiring of Charlie Weis.
First, can Notre Dame really be called a racist institution if they hired an African-American as head coach in the first place?
Second, if Mertens knew anything about Notre Dame football, he would find that Tyrone Willingham was simply an awful recruiter whose shortcomings are soon to exposed in the coming years, as his signing of offensive linemen was criminally negligent.
Willingham supporters are quick to point out that Brady Quinn was a Willingham signee, but he would not have even garnered attention from the Irish staff if it weren't for the prodding of one of Quinn's high school teammates, current Irish safety Chinedum Ndukwe.
Though Mertens accurately states Willingham's record as a coach, he also overlooks the fact that Willingham presided over the objectively worst stretch of football in Notre Dame history.
From November 30, 2002 to November 1, 2003, Willingham went 2-8, replete with five losses coming by 20 or more points, and two shutouts.
Despite all of this, it makes sense for Mertens to bemoan the presence of Charlie Weis on the sidelines for the Irish. After all, if you hated Notre Dame, wouldn't you want a mediocre coach running the show rather than a three-time Super Bowl winner?
Larry LuppiGraduate student of history
