Irish Likely Winners In AP Football Poll

NEW ORLEANS -- "Even the Pope could vote us No. 1 this year," Notre Dame's Ara Parse-ghian said Wednesday. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the Pope won't have a vote when Associated Press tallies the ballots of sportswriters and broadcasters and announces college football's national champion today. But if the Pope could vote for the Irish, Michigan coach Bo Schembechler couldn't. "It's funny how ABC (television) and the National Football Foundation decided the national championship," said Schembechler, who is in Hawaii for the Hula Bowl, "The coaches around here all say Oklahoma is just super." But the Fighting Irish are favored to outpoll Oklahoma (10-0-1) and three other undefeated teams -- Ohio State and Michigan, both 10-0-1, and Penn State, 12-0 -- and win their first national crown since 1966.

Parseghian's quip about the Pope referred to the 1970 season, when Notre Dame ended Texas' 30-game winning streak in the Cotton Bowl but finished second in the ratings behind Nebraska. Before the balloting was completed, Parseghian claimed Notre Dame should be No. 1. Nebraska coach Bob Devaney retorted that "even the Pope couldn't vote for Notre Dame." "I think we could beat anyone," said Oklahoma's Barry Switzer, whose team finished the regular season in second place but was ineligible for a bowl game because of recruiting violations. "The close Sugar Bowl score didn't surprise me, but I couldn't believe how Notre Dame just ran at Alabama. I don't think anyone could do that against us. No one would move the ball on us."

Parseghian had an answer for that. "Oklahoma is a fine team and I'm not taking anything away from them," he said, "but they tied Southern California while we beat them and we beat Miami of Florida, 44-0, while Oklahoma only beat them, 24-20. All I know is we're 11-0, we won the Sugar Bowl over the top-ranked team, we've come through the season unscathed. We met every challenge." ABC billed its Sugar Bowl telecast as a national 'championship game, while the National Football Foundation awarded its MacArthur Bowl to Notre Dame.

[source: ap]