All good points.
But the common opponent argument is hardly ever valid. Circumstances change between games(injuries, situations, etc). ND has also had the benefit of the doubt annually in rankings as the media slobber over ND and is the only northern team it does outside of the SEC. The media will blast OSU's OOC, but ND will play NC State, and some suspect Pac 12 teams and get ranked in the top 5 out of the blue.
And the race comment wasn't about the hiring of a black coach. But the area of both schools. South Bend isn't very diverse AT ALL, and Columbus is a major metropolitan city and capital of the state. The residents of South Bend are not going to be pretty if ND touches 3-4 losses under Freeman. They didn't under Willingham, but all the sudden had no problem making excuses for Weis. Weis benefited greatly in his 1st year from Willinghams players and got a massive extension in year 1! Willingham had to prove it every year, and Weis was given the keys automatically. And I could see something similar happening to Freeman. He becomes the fall guy instantly if ND has a decline, and his leash is much shorter than if they hired say Fickell. Just something to pay attention to.
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