Friday's optimism for the upcoming Notre Dame football season has disappeared faster than BYU quarterback Matt Berry's 37-yard completion that sealed the Cougars victory over the Irish Saturday night.
"The excitement of the season has gone down tremendously," said sophomore Packy Cain. "The games themselves are still going to be fun - we're still going to have a good time - but the expectations for the football team went down a lot."
Many students expressed disappointment for the game but support for the team.
Senior Rozann Carter was disappointed with the outcome, but holds optimism for the rest of the season.
"The first game sets the tone for the season," Carter said. "I think we can come back and have a good season, but it was not a good game."
Carter's sentiments were echoed throughout the student body.
"After one game we are already looking to next year for a national championship," said sophomore John Searson. "We make Bob Davie and Ron Powlus look good."
Like many fans, Searson faced crushing disappointment head-on after the game's conclusion.
"It made me feel totally Irish, drinking away my sorrows," he said. "My Irish heritage showed through last night."
Expectations were high going into Tyrone Willingham's third season, as fans expected to see an improved offensive line and a more dominant passing game. Instead, a sputtering version of last year's struggles was rehashed on offense as the defensive backfield was one crucial step too late on guarding the long ball.
"I saw no evidence of that experience at all, basically because the offensive line couldn't block anything," said Cain. "People are sneaking through, Brady [Quinn] was throwing bad passes. It wasn't going to get the job done."
Even for those who were not raised on faith and football, the game was less than impressive.
"It was the first Notre Dame football game I've ever seen in my life," said J.J. Cappa."I thought it was going to be really enjoyable, but it was really disappointing."
Like Carter, Cappa remains optimistic.
"I'm still excited for the rest of the season but I don't know how well we're going to do," he said. "I think I'm a lot more optimistic than some of the upperclassmen, though."
And senior Kathryn Wendel is one upperclassman who is unsure of upcoming games.
"I was really excited just about beating the crap out of everyone this year," Wendel said. "I was really disappointed. If we couldn't beat BYU, what will next week be like?"
