Section 29, Row 48, Seat 10

Mobile Units | by George

2009-09-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Four of Section29 has arrived. (Note: please, do not sue us for copyright infringement, Walt Disney Company...)

#4 - Get The Line Moving, or the QB Will

Notre Dame and the running quarterback - a bad joke that's been getting delivered over, and over, and over again. Whether it's been the stocky, elusive frames of Troy Smith (above) & JaMarcus Russell, or the deceptively fast Drew Stanton, the triple options of Navy & Air Force, or some cement-foot pocket passer breaking out for an old-fashioned busted play big gain, it seems that some of the most comfortable positions for an opposing QB have been out of the pocket when playing against the Irish. This hasn't been a unique problem under Weis - running quarterbacks have killed Notre Dame often in the last decade or two.

If the current head coach is yet to come up with a solution for this, it hasn't been due to a lack of effort or concentration. After the second of two straight bowl losses when a failure to corral the quarterback led to disastrous results, Weis overhauled the defense behind Corwin Brown and a fundamental shift into a "3-4 personnel" dynamic that provided some positive results but still left ND a middle-of-the-pack defensive unit. On came Jon Tenuta and his blitz-at-all-costs persona to shake things up in 2008. The Irish dialed up pressure from the inside, outside, and all points in between, but the results were far from legendary - the Irish picked up 27 sacks, but that was up only marginally from the previous year (20) when you consider how much more they blitzed. What's more, after the Michigan game last season the Irish never really faced those QBs with "escapability" save for Midshipmen in mid-November.

Now in 2009 comes the return of the dual-threat quarterback. The Irish have 1,000 yard runner Colin Kapernick on Saturday out of the Nevada Wolfpack's "Pistol" offense, then year two of the Rich Rodriguez Experience up at Michigan (whether they've been over-practicing it or not, Rich Rod's teams always see an exponential jump in productivity during the second year). A few weeks after marks the arrival of Jake Locker (assuming he's still vertical by then) from Washington, who took Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2007 while rushing for just under 1000 yards. Throw in the usual date with the USNA, and also consider how USC might for the first time under Pete Carroll have a true "mobile" QB in Aaron Corp, though reports indicate he's all but lost the job to freshman phenom Matt Barkley. Toss in Stanford (not exactly a spread offense but one that prefers a QB with some legs) and you have an opposing slate with a lot of unique challenges that need to be met with equal parts pressure and discipline.

Pressure, of course, is Jon Tenuta's favorite thing. If you told me he sings the Billy Joel song every night before he goes to bed, I would not be shocked in the slightest. Now that's he's officially the defensive coordinator alongside "assistant head coach" Corwin Brown, I figure to see his signature move - BLITZ!!! - even more, if that's somehow possible.

Now, moving the chess pieces around is all well and good, but it's worth taking a look at what kind of opponent you're facing before defaulting to the "blitz everybody on every down" approach. Football evolves just like everything else - the spread-option offenses favored by coaches like Rodriguez are a direct counter to the aggressive defenses favored by Tenuta because it plays directly into the likelihood that a little bit of misdirection (and a lot of mobility) will catch those overzealous blitzers out of position. Back in the dark ages of the 1980s/90s it was screen pass and precise timing routes of the West Coast offense that came about to counter the blitz, now it's a new breed of quarterback running the veers and counters from what looks on the surface like a pass-happy offense.

Essentially, it won't be enough to see a QB running all over the place when going against Tenuta's pressure packages. He may just be doing that by design. What the Irish need is to win the battles, consistently, at the point of attack and, to paraphrase Weis, "get the line of scrimmage moving in the right direction" (backwards, in this case). Essentially, I'm saying that Tenuta can and will blitz until the cows come home - if the Irish can't make themselves known up front and in the trenches, to take away those lanes and gaps that these agile quarterbacks love to seize on, those blitzes will once again yield only low-hanging fruit.

Hunting for Red Numbers | by George

2009-08-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

Everything offensively for Notre Dame begins at the quarterback position. That's been true from the moment Charlie Weis stepped on campus all the way thru the highs of the Brady Quinn Era and the perilous depths of 2007. One of the more intriguing elements for 2009, from my perspective, will be seeing if the actions and deeds of the current Irish signal-caller match with the offseason praise that's been coming his way. We're into the top five and the home stretch, so...

#5 - Hey, Remember the 60s?

Jimmy Clausen may have rolled into town with a spiked, over-gelled hairdo, a stretch Hummer, and lots of high school bling, but a couple of years at the school of hard knocks (well done on that by the way, offensive line) humbled him at first, then steeled his resolve. As a result, his teammates voted him captain, a year after his own stop-start-kinda start-dead stop-start up once again performance under center mirrored the Irish's tease of a 2008 campaign. You think a quarterback's not important (and if so, what game have you been watching?), take a look at Clausen in Notre Dame's wins and losses:

Hate to stir bad memories for you Bears fans, but Notre Dame in '08 often got acquainted with a Good Jimmy and a Bad Jimmy. More or less, Good Jimmy = a win. Take a look at the six regular season wins:

DATE	OPP	RESULT	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YPA	LNG	TD	INT	SACK	RAT
9/6	San Diego State	W 21-13	21	34	237	61.8	6.97	38	3	2	0	87.5
9/13	Michigan	W 35-17	10	21	147	47.6	7.00	60	2	2	0	63.1
9/27	Purdue	W 38-21	20	35	275	57.1	7.86	38	3	0	1	111.0
10/4	Stanford	W 28-21	29	40	347	72.5	8.68	48	3	0	1	123.6
10/25	@Washington	W 33-7	14	26	201	53.8	7.73	51	1	1	2	76.0
11/15	@Navy	W 27-21	15	18	110	83.3	6.11	14	0	2	1	52.5

Which brings us to Bad Jimmy. 2008's losses...

DATE	OPP	RESULT	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YPA	LNG	TD	INT	SACK	RAT
9/20	@Michigan State	L 23-7	24	41	242	58.5	5.90	30	1	2	3	63.3
10/11	@North Carolina	L 29-24	31	48	383	64.6	7.98	47	2	2	4	85.7
11/1	Pittsburgh	L 36-33 (OT)	23	44	271	52.3	6.16	47	3	0	1	94.0
11/8	@Boston College	L 17-0	26	46	226	56.5	4.91	32	0	4	1	33.3
11/22	Syracuse	L 24-23	22	39	291	56.4	7.46	40	2	0	2	97
11/29	@USC	L 38-3	11	22	41	50.0	1.86	11	0	2	4	18.4

Now the most intriguing thing is that Good Jimmy and Bad Jimmy seemingly can surface at any time. Two of his strongest performances as a passer were in defeat (Pittsburgh & North Carolina). He was also struggling to be merely pedestrian in wins over Michigan & Navy. Note an underlying trend as well: in six victories he was sacked a total of five times; in six losses, 15 times.

The role of the offensive line is going to come up before this countdown is over with, to be sure. But let's keep the focus on #7 for the time being. His statline from 2008's 12 regular season games confirms that numbers don't lie and that numbers don't tell the whole story. Sometimes a mediocre Clausen was still enough for Notre Dame to win, other times he played quite well in defeat. If I were to boil it down to one hard-and-fast statistic though, here it is: think of the above chart like a golf board - red numbers are good. You see only four of them though - in five of the six losses in '08, Clausen failed to reach a 60% completion rate. Further more, if we take 60% completion as the magic number, Clausen reached it overall just 4 times in 12 games. To compare with recent history: from 2005-06, Brady Quinn hit 60% or better 18 times in 23 games. The Irish were 17-1 in those contests.

Coming out of high school Clausen was heralded as a quarterback who could make all the throws. The stories of his work ethic and competitiveness were almost mythic in status, and there was the (unsolicited) but still highly-touted moniker of "The LeBron James of High School Football". He's now more than halfway through his eligibility at Notre Dame and that crucial confidence and decision-making expected out of an elite quarterback has to shine through now. That's what got everybody buzzing at the Hawai'i Bowl, even if the opponent was an overwhelmed 6-6 WAC team. Jimmy looks different, people kept saying, and it's hard not to notice when a guy who flirted with 50% passing all season uncorks a near "perfect game", to use his coach's words. What's he done in the offseason to follow up on that and make sure it wasn't simply a mirage? Tune in Saturday as we begin to find out.

Clausen's almost done with the red practice jersey, but starting Saturday he needs to post a few more of our version of the red number.

Embarrassment of Riches | by George

2009-08-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

Everybody wants Notre Dame to have a power running game, bringing back lucid memories of the days when Jerome Bettis used to peel defenders off of his cleats in between plays, while bulksters like Marc Edwards and Ray Zellars would chew linebackers up and spit them out...those were indeed the days. They are also long gone, but only to be replaced by an attack that hopefully blossoms this year as equally effective. What will it take to get there? Let's examine peg number six on our 12-step ladder of Irish importance:

#6 - Cavalcade of Wide Receiving Stars

Arriving in 2009 (fingers crossed) should be an absolutely scintillating Irish passing attack. I know we're all supposed to temper the enthusiasm on Jimmy Clausen's bowl performance because "it was just Hawai'i", but the kid didn't only carve up Hawai'i, he looked like a totally different QB in process. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has one of the best one-two punches at wideout in all of football, from the NFL-prototype known as Michael Floyd to the shape-shifting speedster with the vertical of a man twice his height, Golden Tate. As Irish fans we know that. You can bet every defensive coordinator the Irish go up against knows it too.

In analyzing the Weis passing scheme, the most successful year was 2005. Brady Quinn had not just two dependable, 6'5" receivers in Samardzija and Stovall, but also arguably the nation's best tight end, an abnormally sure-handed #1 running back (Darius Walker not only posted a 1000 yard season but also caught 43 passes and helped craft a lethal screen passing game), and a grinder, "possession" receiver - as opposed to all those non-possession receivers out there - to look for when teams keyed on his big men (Matt Shelton). In 2008 the Irish came close to duplicating this formula, but Armando Allen wasn't looked to quite as often, Kyle Rudolph the freshman wasn't as polished as Fasano the junior (though he was damn close and ought to be ahead of the curve with a full offseason under his belt), and David Grimes was thrust into a top-two role when Floyd got injured.

All the while, injury and inconsistency left the Irish relying on lots of jump balls and "draw in the dirt" plays that relied on the athleticism of Floyd and Tate. For 2009, the Irish passing attack must evolve or perish. Duval Kamara and Robby Parris, junior and senior respectively, have earned their way back onto the depth chart, and for the time being Weis has said they will be there in front of second-year freshman John Goodman, Deion Walker, and true frosh Shaquelle Evans. If they prove why in the first few games of the season, Jimmy Clausen won't just look like a great quarterback - Notre Dame will have the makings of an elite offense.

Don't Overlook the Middle Man | by George

2009-08-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

In which we examine if the Irish need to be an army of one up the gut. The "12 Keys" continue...

#7 - "The Man" in the Middle

The all-Smith linebacking corps dreams may have taken a hit with the relocation of #22 (Harrison) to the defensive backfield, but Notre Dame's middle linebacking group is still heavy on the Mr. Smith rotation with #49 (Toryan) and #58 (Brian) listed as starters, along with team captain #41 (Scott) backing up Darius Fleming at the outside position. Then there's this new kid on the block, Manti Te'o, currently listed as #2 behind Brian Smith but guaranteed to be on the field (and not in mop-up time). Reports coming in from corners unknown indicate that this Te'o gentleman may potentially be a good player. Since he hails from the tropical island of Hawai'i, precious little has been stated about his ability aside from his being, apparently, the GREATEST DEFENSIVE RECRUIT EVER. There's also a couple of sophomores of quality pedigree who've risen up the depth chart and will hopefully provide quality backup minutes, Anthony McDonald & David Pozluszny.

Why is middle linebacker so important? Aside from the fact that the recruiting experts will be looking for Te'o to record a five-yard tackle for a loss on every down he plays, every snap of his college career, the Irish need to make a leap forward here. For many seasons now middle linebacker has been a position at Notre Dame known for steady, dependable leadership performances (not like those are unimportant - they're huge, turned in by the likes of Anthony Denman, Mike Goolsby, Courtney Watson, and most recently Maurice Crum). At some point though, Notre Dame needs a true playmaker out of the linebacker corps. Every team needs a player like Crum, but every elite team has a player like USC's Rey Mauluga.

So, will it be Manti Te'o with an instant impact up the middle? We'd all like to think so, if only so all those miles Brian Polian racked up flying to Hawaii will look worth it right away. But for all Te'o's obvious gifts, he remains a freshman. The player who needs to be the rock, emotionally and schematically, is Brian Smith.

Smith is a third-year starter who will serve as the fulcrum of the defense - and he knows it. Always an emotional firecracker and a vocal leader of the Irish defense, even dating back to his wild-eyed freshman days (when he pick-sixed Matt Ryan), the time has come to elevate his game to the next level and bring the rest of the unit along for the ride. Moving into his third year as a starter, he needs to be more than a player who can be counted on for a strong play or two per game. He needs to be a guy opposing offenses have to account for on every single down. I may be adverse to predictions but I will offer one up right here - if Brian Smith notches 100 tackles for the season, the Irish will be a BCS team.

8 Men In | by George

2009-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

We all know that Notre Dame football provides its fans with something to talk about (or argue, whichever comes first) all the time. This season, no matter the results, much will be written and debated about the link between coaching and talent, specifically with some of the key units for Notre Dame under new management - Frank Verducci (O-Line), Tony Alford (Running Backs), Randy Hart (D-Line). More ink will be devoted to these men and their charges as the season draws closer - and if it is successful, prepare thyself. A flop? Oh boy, really prepare thyself. But one coach who holds a big sway in Irish fortunes is a one-time wunderkind who's evolved into a veteran voice on that staff, a savvy co-owner of the defense who is still, in one man's humble opinion, the second most-important member behind one Charles Weis.

#8 in the countdown, come on down...

#8 - All Cornered

There were a few position battles going in during Notre Dame's spring and fall practice periods, and one area that always had a healthy competition going was the defensive backfield. This was not a case of, "Sure, there are some incumbent starters there but things are pretty open anyway because nobody's been all that good" like we saw in the special teams unit and certain places along the offensive line. The four starting spots among the DBs were going to be earned the old-fashioned way.

For all the potential that lurks with the linebackers, and all the promise of a new regime along the lines, one area that seems to be limited only by the fact that you can only play so many guys at a time is corner & safety. RJ Blanton is back after turning heads during his freshman year, and classmate Jamoris Slaughter won't be kept on the bench a second year due to lack of effort. Returning (and right back in the thick of things) after a semester off is junior Gary Gray, and he's joined by senior Darrin Walls - who missed all of last season after being away from the University. Include safeties Kyle & Dan McCarthy, Harrison Smith, true frosh early enrollee Zeke Motta, plus do-everything nickel back Sergio Brown and senior corner Raeshon McNeil, suddenly being a DB for Notre Dame seems a little like being an RB at USC these days - 'there's just so many options to choose from!'

The man in charge of juggling the formations and tendencies is Corwin Brown, who experienced a shift in titles and responsibilities this offseason as Jon Tenuta was officially given a defensive coordinator's placard. Brown has effectively become the Kordell Stewart of the coaching staff, a multi-faceted role known as "Assistant Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs". It's this third slice which should be a point of emphasis. We've seen Notre Dame play aggressive coverage (Walls & Blanton), we've seen them blitz like there was no tomorrow (Smith & Brown), we've seen them develop into great open-field tacklers that helped kill off potential big plays (McCarthy). Now comes the moment when Brown proves himself as a coach - molding the deepest and most experienced part of Notre Dame's defense into a great complement to what Tenuta & Hart are working with up front.

Ideally, this is an impact that won't show up in countless ways on the stat sheet, if at all. Phrase it a simpler way: it can either be a good thing or a bad thing when the top tacklers on the team are defensive backs, and in the past couple of seasons Notre Dame has flirted with the wrong side of that distinction. No more over-relying on good safety play to stop the option/spread offenses the Irish will face in the first couple weeks (though inevitably these guys are going to have to step up and make plays against those units if Notre Dame wants to win). More pressure up front, allowing the Irish to give more reps to the 'playmakers' in the backfield like Blanton, Brown, & and Harrison Smith, while still having the ace of an excellent coverage back like Walls to go against quality wideouts. Avid readers of Blue-Gray Sky might remember their outstanding recap of the opposing wideout groups for 2009 - it's interesting to note that only 2 of the 12 Irish opponents (USC & Washington) return a WR who had at least 50 catches last season, and there isn't really an "elite" wide receiver on this year's schedule of foes...though I wouldn't bet against one developing out of USC before the year ends.

Point is, with a full two-deep of players who bring unique skills and various styles to the backfield, Corwin Brown ought to have the freedom to let an opponent know on every single down that going to the air is going to pose a problem...and that's before offensive coordinators start thinking about how they're going to handle the Tenuta blitz packages. This could finally be the season when the Irish complete the transition from that ugly duckling year of 2007 when they ranked so highly against pass simply by virtue of being horrendous against the run, and they still allowed numerous big passing plays along the way. If it is, Corwin Brown and the boys who are often seen leading the "Crank Me Up" cheers will be cranking all the way to January...and maybe beyond.

The Highest Expectation Must Come From Within... | by George

2009-08-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Before we get down to the business at hand, I was brushing up on Lou Holtz's book Wins, Losses, & Lessons, when I came across a passage that I hope finds a way into the locker of many of Notre Dame's relocated/new players this year, like certain key special teams players, defensive lineman, linebackers, fullbacks, and offensive lineman: "Inexperience is an excuse put forth by people who know they're going to lose."

So while the preseason legends grow, so the countdown continues...

#9 - Expect To Be Better Than Expected

On the heels of the prediction made the other day by the esteemed Dr. Lou, resident college football crank Beano Cook also went on the record with the opinion that Notre Dame could be a logical pick for a National Championship Game berth, due to mainly to thier "easy" schedule.

Now, I can't really get on the soapbox and defend the scheduling tendencies of Kevin White, the recently relocated athletic director who crafted such gems as playing Washington State in San Antonio. Dates with Nevada and Connecticut don't add luster to the schedule either, and thanks to historic craters hit in 2008 nobody expects much out of what would normally be quality opponents Michigan & Washington. Boston College, Michigan State, Navy, & Pittsburgh aren't top 10 teams, but they aren't Bowl Subdivision directional schools either. This year's Notre Dame schedule is the quintessential "B" student - it does enough to get by, but hardly stands out in a crowd.

The point is that Notre Dame hasn't done enough to merit the pats on the back that seem to go with the recent surge of, "Don't worry, you'll be better than every team on the schedule except for USC, so just expect to take 10 or 11 wins without much of an effort." How many times in the past five years has the BCS tricked people into this exact same kind of "shine by way of overcoming very low expectations" for teams like West Virginia, Louisville, and even Rutgers; for the record, I don't think it's a coincidence that all of those teams are in the Big East, a league Notre Dame may find itself increasingly married to on the football field (yet another ingenius innovation from Dr. Blanco).

Here's what Notre Dame should be expecting- no talking up how deep and experience they've become. No awards for being "almost" a nine-win team a year ago. No quotes about how it's only natural to assume they'll be the better team every Saturday with that one annoying Southern California exemption. They have to expect everyone's best shot (because they're going to get it) and respond in kind. And for the love of all things holy, do not fall backwards into the thinking about how there's a bunch of players who still need time to grow, time to gain experience, and how it would be a nice achievement to go 9-3. I'm not saying 9-3 wouldn't be a successful year on the face of things - I'm saying the expectation that Notre Dame can coast to a 9-win year and a January 1 bowl berth on the strength of the Notre Dame name alone needs to be just that - an "expectation" made by people who have no idea what they're talking about, or how good this team can be.

In other words, let everybody else waste their breath (and their blog space) speculating on how good the talent might be or how manageable the schedule is. Notre Dame needs to get back to one mindset: expecting to be a lot better than people expected.

10 is the new...10? | by George

2009-08-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the countdown, we will invariably bring up some of the key moments and personalities who will shape the Irish destiny (new coaches, players in new positions, big names who need to fill big expectations) but today we turn it over to a player who, if all goes according to plan, will not have to take one meaningful snap the whole year. But how (and if) he gets on the field will have a dramatic effect on the present and the future of Notre Dame football...

#10 - The Curious Case of Dayne Crist

Charlie Weis is fond of saying one of the biggest lessons college football has taught him is how much of a difference there is between 22-year old seniors and 18-year old freshman. He was speaking to one's ability to mentally handle the rigors of big-time sports (not to mention a boatload of verbal tongue lashings), but I think he also came to grips with the fact that when the playbook is loaded with nuance like his is, it takes a special mind to grasp it all and a special talent to execute it. And there's only so much you can learn about that by a) watching from the sidelines and b) going in only to hand the ball off.

In case you can't tell, I'm zeroing in on the quarterback position here. As far as the starter is concerned, one of the more encouraging things about this Irish team is the upwards-trend of the numbers for Jimmy Clausen. Many of the key "metrics" for the QB position improved between seasons for Jimmy - touchdowns up, completion percentage up, interceptions down, improved decision making, and better overall health due to an offensive line that reduced the # of sacks allowed by over half. Not all was perfect either - Clausen missed throws in key moments, and some of the INTs he did throw were among the most costly plays in the Irish season (think opening drive of the second half against UNC).

Brady Quinn had similar statistical improvement in his sophomore season, which was similarly inconsistent as Clausen was in '08. It was the third year when his ability not only came to fruition but happened to lock in with a system well-suited to his talents. Clausen is traveling on the same trajectory - surprisingly enough, he does not worry me...going into the season. He also has what Brady Quinn never had - a legit potential superstar backing him up. This is what concerns me.

Dayne Crist? The five-star heir to the throne, like Jimmy a SoCal native with moxie to spare and an intense competitive fire? What could possibly be a concern regarding Dayne Crist? Precisely that - as the heir to the throne, the false sense of security that can build with simply "waiting a turn" and languishing on a bench, coming on only for mop-up duty. Crist the competitor (and this is a good thing) will never accept the idea that he's just the number 2 quarterback. Can Weis the coach do enough to make him ready for the inevitable ascension, though? He addressed the role of the backup QB during last week's full-open practice (without directly referring to Crist) with the following:

The one thing that's going to bother me some, if situation presents itself, is when I put him in, I'm going to have to let him throw the ball. Let's say you get an opportunity to play the whole quarter. You can't just sit there and run inside zone on every play. You've got to give him an opportunity to run the offense.

The "bother" portion isn't a referendum on Crist's ability to run the offense, but an acknowledgment on Weis' behalf that quarterback is a deep position for this Irish team and has a huge influence on the overall direction of the program. It doesn't benefit anybody, least of all Crist, to call him in and do the same things David Wolke was doing as Quinn's backup. Put it in this context: Notre Dame has a comfortable 20-point lead with 5 minutes to play in the opener against Nevada, and has just gotten the ball back. Do you send in Crist to run with the second unit and call three two-yard runs before punting? Or do you act like it's a tie game and put the onus on Crist and whoever he's on the field with to move the ball with the precision expected out of Clausen? Let's go with the former and Crist leads a cool 65-yard scoring drive to kill off the rest of the game, completing a nice pass or two along the way. Then the next week against Michigan Jimmy Clausen tries to scramble for extra yards and suffers a torn ACL. Now it's Dayne Crist's show, period. Think having his snaps be treated like meaningful snaps won't be beneficial at a moment like that?

On the hoof, of course, this will not be a burning issue in 2009. The world will be perfect, Clausen will stay very healthy and very effective, and Notre Dame will build insurmountable leads that will provide Weis the opportunities to start the long, developing segue into the Crist era (we have to dream, right?). In two years with Quinn at the helm Weis didn't do this at all, which came back to royally bite him during 2007. The opportunities the team creates for Dayne Crist to play (excluding injury scenarios) and what Weis chooses to do with those opportunities probably won't be the difference in this team winning or losing a game. But it will speak volumes about what kind of team the Irish have.

Young & Hart

2009-08-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame shifted into "game week" mode as the school year began today, with specific prep for Nevada's "Pistol" offense topping the list of concerns. Fits with the theme of today's bulletin in our 12 Days of Irish Football countdown...

#11 - The Very Young, and Hart

Scan Notre Dame's 2009 depth chart and you see a lot of players who've been around the block for 20 games or so - they've adjusted to the speed of college, they've flashed some skill, they're ready to go to another level (popular choices: Brian Smith, Michael Floyd, Jimmy Clausen, Kyle Rudolph). Good depth and maturing talent seems a given at a lot of spots on Notre Dame's roster. Defensive line is not one of those spots.

When it comes to Notre Dame, the performance of the d-line has been a matter of perspective. First, you have to restrain the temptation to define on the scale of who they are not - in other words, forget about how it was "supposed" to be a line of Butch Lewis, Gerald McCoy, Justin Trattou, & Omar Hunter. It isn't. We can argue about recruiting could/woulda/shouldas until the cows come home, and all it does is turn attention away from the players who are here and who are working their tails off to refortify the Irish front.

Among the adjustments to the coaching staff this past offseason was the resignation/dismissal of Jappy Oliver after four years of inconsistent (to be generous) line play. The best thing one could say about Notre Dame's trench players on defense was that they had a tendency to play beyond their means - an undersized but absolutely ferocious Trevor Laws in 2007, a similarly productive year from Pat Kuntz in 2008. Yet there's been scant continuation, and no overwhelming presence has established itself to stop opposing rushers. Passing defense? The secondary for the Irish has done a lot of heavy lifting lately, and for all those 'TAH-NOO-TAH' blitz packages, there's certainly been something left to be desired so far as generating pressure with the front four goes. In four seasons under Charlie Weis, here have been the team leaders in sacks (where the law of diminishing returns seems in full force):

2005: Victor Abiamiri, 8
2006: Abiamiri, 10.5
2007: Laws, 4
2008: Kuntz/Harrison Smith/Ethan Johnson, 3.5 each

It's more than a bit disconcerting when the returning co-leader in sacks is a safety who was playing out of position. And for all the hand-wringing over the players who got away, it's not that Notre Dame has been devoid of talent up front in past years - and that certainly will not be the case this year. Ethan Johnson was perhaps the best defensive line prospect west of the Mississippi when he came out of high school in 2008. Plenty of other players, some of whom took of redshirt year, could have gone just about anywhere they wanted. So now, partly because of graduation losses and partly because the guys who were in there haven't gotten the job done , the Irish two-deep along the line features four players who didn't play at all last season.

In the ear of newbies and returning contributors alike during the critical spring development period & fall camp has been one of the elder statesman of defensive line play, an old-school disciple if ever there was one: Randy Hart. A three-time letter winner (as an offensive lineman, no less) at Ohio State University - he played on the 1968 Buckeyes championship team which featured a young Lou Holtz on its coaching staff - Hart brings a resume of more than 40 years in college football and a decidedly up-tempo, punch-in-the-gut style of tutelage. The decision to extend media viewing at practices to 45 minutes on Tuesdays this season (it will be completely closed all other days) ought to provide many beat writers the opportunity to fill up a notebook with Hart-isms. From today's report out of Irish Illustrated - subscribers click here:

With Hart standing behind [senior Morrice] Richardson signaling two "offensive linemen" (actually, two defensive linemen simulating offensive linemen) the blocking scheme, Richardson guesses wrong, opening a gap straight up the field for the running back.
"You know what they're doing? The band is playing, and it ain't our band!" Hart says.

Adds Hart, "If you're thinking, you're stinking, and if you're guessing, it's worse!"

Animated commentary aside, Hart boasts an impressive resume and he'll need to draw from every ounce of it to get the Irish up to speed. Hart's last two units at Washington, where he coached for 21 years before not being retained by Steve Sarkisian, were historically bad at run defense, allowing 4.92 & 5.69 yards per carry to their opponents. In his defense, when the team is 0-12, it's not any one thing. More to the point, at Notre Dame he figures to be working with talent more on par with the type of units he led as a coach on six different Rose Bowl teams. It is that talent, and how Hart molds it differently than the departed Oliver, which will go a long way to defining Notre Dame's defense. A lot of attention (or, more accurately, anxious anticipation) is being thrown towards Tony Alford and Frank Verducci on the offensive side, but they've been charged with a renovation project, seemingly having to retro-fit players with a lot of experience (most of it bad). Hart is the coach working on a much broader, almost blank, canvas: Tyler Stockton, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Sean Cwynar, Brandon Newman & Hafis Williams all could be thrust into a pivotal role along with the still-learning Johnson, to say nothing of "situational" upper-class players like Richardson & John Ryan, for whom it is now or never. The closest thing this unit has to a polished veteran is Kerry Neal, which is why you're probably still going to see a lot of "four linebackers" on the field, even if the Irish are officially not running the 3-4 personnel grouping under Jon Tenuta.

How quickly can the Irish defensive line dominate the trenches? I guess that'll depend on if they listen to their Hart...and before you say anything, of course that was a terrible pun. Given the reports I'm hearing about his manner and energy at practice, you think Randy would mind? Hardly.

The Journey of Twelve Steps...

2009-08-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

A full year has passed since the last Twelve Days of Irish Football. That can only mean one thing - just 12 more days until the start of another season! Welcome to the annual countdown of the 12 keys (as voted on by our crack editorial board) that will determine not just the future of the Notre Dame 2009 football team, but most likely the fate of the free world and humanity itself.

Tonight we open with some business to attend to: Coach Charlie Weis released the updated depth chart (final answers on this will be revealed next Tuesday) and announced the awarding of scholarships to walk-on tight end Bobby Burger and punter Eric Maust, who for now retained his punting duties despite a stiff challenge from true freshman Ben Turk. Meanwhile, another new recruit was making waves on the special teams unit, and that is where (our) story of the 2009 Irish begins...

#12 - New Kicks
Finding a reliable kicker has been a problem for Notre Dame. Not necessarily special teams play as a whole, though that unit has had its share of hot-and-cold moments during Weis' 4-year tenure. Kicking, however, has been a consistent sore spot. Despite having a top-flight coverage unit last season (#1 nationally in return yardage allowed and average starting position), the Irish had just 1 touchback for the year out of Ryan Burkhart. Placekicking wise it was a tale of at least two seasons for Brandon Walker, who suffered some big lows - missing 6 of his first 7 attempts in '08 - then course corrected to finish the year 13-for-17 (14/24 overall). Two of those late-season misses were critical though, with a 38-yarder in the fourth overtime against Pittsburgh shanking left, then a 49-yarder against Syracuse (which could've sealed the game) falling just short. That's not to say Walker carries the blame for those losses - he doesn't. It's just that no objective observer could look at the Irish and say there's room to argue over the Irish performance in the kicking department. I'm often fond of stating that numbers don't tell the whole story, but they also don't lie: since the start of the Weis era, the Irish are just 12-for-27 on FG attempts of 40 yards or more.

Enter Nick Tausch. Posting good numbers as a senior in Texas is one thing (career long in high school: 53 yards, 22 of 41 kickoffs were touchbacks), now he just needs to be equally good with 80,000 people watching every swing of the leg. In analyzing the position battle between the Walker, Tausch, and senior Ryan Burkhart, Weis went to one of his most famous euphemisms: "It wasn't close". Which once meant, based on how he applied that term the past two years to Walker, "If we're not well-inside the 30 I'm going for it on fourth down every time". At first Irish fans loved the go-for-broke attitude, especially when it was walk-on D.J. Fitzpatrick handling the placekicking duties. But with three scholarships tied up in kickers for 2009, the "inexperience/lack of ability" card can't really be played, and placekicker is hardly the only position - on the field and off - where that phrase is going to come up in previewing the season. More on that in future installments. The question every follower of the Irish has regarding the kicking game is a simple one: surely one of these guys can step up and provide a legit safety net for when the offense can't quite get to the red zone...right?

Tausch will have first dibs to calm that fear after a strong fall camp. And if he can't quite boom every kickoff to the back of the endzone, look on the bright side: a fully healthy Mike Anello is back for one more ride.

Lou, You Need to See The Doctor

2009-08-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not. I know Lou's opened himself up to criticism for being unashamedly pro-Notre Dame during his tenure at ESPN, but I remember at a moment like this one of the chapter titles in his recent book: Perfection Is Possible if You Accept Nothing Less.

So no matter what anybody else thinks, the Irish have at least one guy firmly in their corner as the season creeps closer:

The Number 23

2009-08-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

With today's release of the Associated Press poll, both halves of the "human element" in the BCS formula have weighed in. Notre Dame will begin the season ranked 23rd, the first time in either poll since the final poll of the 2006 season (on the heals of a Sugar Bowl blowout, the Irish finished 17th). So the Irish will begin the year as Golden Tate. How low can they go - Jimmy Clausen (#7)? Manti Te'o (#5)? Darrin Walls (#2)? Or perhaps even a Deion Walker?

As for Notre Dame's opponents, only one - #4 USC - begins the year as being, in the eyes of the voters, any good. Six others - Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Boston College, Nevada, Michigan, & Navy - recorded at least one vote in one of the polls (the Wolverines and Midshipmen receiving some love only from the coaches).

Can the season really be just 14 days away?

All the News That Was Fit to Print

2009-08-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

...except we missed the deadline.

When we last picked up the trail of Notre Dame Recruiting for 2010, the Irish were staring down a potential limbo situation with the class headliner, Chris Martin (since resolved) but also seeing a healthy influx of commitments during the dog days of summer. Since June 25th, the Irish have added (in chronological order): DE Blake Leuders, QB Andrew Hendrix, CB Lo Wood, LB/S Chris Badger, DE Justin Utupo, QB Tommy Rees, LB Kendall Moore, CB Spencer Boyd, and DE/ATH Prince Shembo.

Meanwhile, the 'where there's smoke there's fire' crowd got an unexpected "gift" when it was announced that Nate Montana, the older son of Joe, would be leaving Notre Dame for a semester to play at Pasadena City College. Montana himself made more than one attempt to explain that the idea of the sabbatical was to gain meaningful playing time with the idea of returning to Notre Dame a better player this spring (and with Jimmy Clausen and Dayne Crist locked in to the first two depth chart positions, plus the return of Evan Sharpley for a fifth year, Montana didn't figure to get a lot of reps in practice nor games this fall, so it was a shrewd maneuver that actually will aid his development). The whispers though, about if the Montana clan had now cast a full "no-confidence" vote in Charlie Weis - remember how Montana's other son, Nick, committed to the University of Washington - just got louder. Not to mention infinitely more annoying.

Scheduling? Sure, there was some scheduling news. Yankee Stadium, the 2010 proposed opponents, Nick Saban throwing down the gauntlet, and Jack Swarbrick saying, "Yeah, you know, playing Texas would be kinda cool".

Then there was another Urban Meyer dust-up. Personally, I think this is a sick inside joke Meyer has going with somebody over how many times he can make the media speculate over his job status without him actually saying something. Every summer Urban owes his friend at least 12 "wild speculation blog posts" about a guy who heard from a guy who heard from a guy that Meyer might be interested in taking the Notre Dame job at some vague, undetermined future year that nobody has any clue over. If Urbie comes up short he has to do a lap around Gainesville in jorts. Now, when it came to Notre Dame, the Great Meyer Hope actually did say something. Write down the exact date and time he said it, please. I'm just saying, you never know when that kind of information might come in handy. (How quickly have we forgotten Saban's "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach". Anyone?)

And of course, Lou Holtz was in the news. First as a coach (above photo) while leading the Notre Dame Legends team to victory in the Japan Bowl, 19-3. It may well go down as the most impressive unofficial win in football history, as Holtz steered to triumph a squad that had Ambrose Wooden (!!) at quarterback for most of the game (do not adjust your computer monitor. You're reading it correctly). Brandon Hoyte also got in some carries at tailback. Then there was a quick rumor of a run for Congress out of the state of Florida (Lou currently makes his home in Orlando). Like Meyer, Holtz quickly emerged at a golf outing to deny the veracity of the claim.

To wrap it all up, programming note: the Japan Bowl can be seen in its entirety (and really, who doesn't want to see Ambrose Wooden run the triple option?) this Monday night on CBS College Sports Network - formerly CSTV - at 9 PM ET.

Coming Soon to a Subway Near You

2009-07-20T19:00:00.001-07:00

When I said in the previous post that I was still treating the leaked 2010 schedule as a hypothetical document, citing its lack of a source (or any other attribution whatsoever) I wasn't trying to pull a Buzz Bissinger and question the manhood of bloggers. That would be the ultimate pot-meeting-kettle. It's not like I think "We Is ND" posted the info after stumbling home from an all-night bender. It's just that later this very same day a press conference was held that put a bullet through one of the supposed "final" dates on the schedule.

In that version of 2010, Notre Dame was set to renew acquaintances with Army on Nov. 6th at Yankee Stadium while the Irish would host Tulsa on November 20th. But at today's press conference in the Bronx, it was formally announced (after being confirmed days ago by numerous sources) that the Irish would play the Black Knights of the Hudson on the 20th before they wrap up the season on November 27th against USC. It could be simply that he had the dates wrong. It also could mean the schedule is not final. I highly suspect it's the former but again, that's just me with my open mind.

The return of college football to the new Yankee Stadium, the $1.5 billion palace that can buy everything except more than 50% capacity for the seats right behind home plate (maybe they should've done what the Louisiana Superdome did, and purposely paint the seats a neutral, alternating color so it would appear on television as if people were sitting in them; they could do what game shows do and bring in human blow-up dolls to occupy the seats, either one) was first hinted at during a May New York Times interview with Irish AD Jack Swarbrick. From the first public mention of the idea it seemed that Swarbrick was intent on having the Irish involved, preferably with the cadets from West Point as an homage to some of the great foundational games in college football. The Notre Dame-Army series gave us the "Rockne invents the forward pass game" in 1913, the 1924 Notre Dame win which inspired the creation of The Four Horseman, and the 1946 edition of The Game of the Century, an epic 0-0 tie between the Irish under Johnny Lujack and the Army powerhouse led by Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. During a number of springtime speaking appearances, Swarbrick made repeated references to The Game That Changed Football, a recent book chronicling the 1913 meeting, and also pointed out that in commemorative books celebrating old Yankee Stadium, dozens of pages were dedicated to the presence of college football, specifically Notre Dame, at the House That Ruth Built.

Alas, since those heady days of Rock asking the team to "Win One for the Gipper" against Army in the same locker room where Ruth and Gehrig once stood, it hasn't exactly been instant classic material - a one-sided affair between the two schools where Army's last win came in 1958 by the odd score of 14-2, and the only moment of drama in the 13 Irish victories since occurred as Ivory Covington made "The $8 Million Tackle" on a two-point conversion in 1995. Notre Dame leads the series overall 37-8-4.

What those great meetings of the past share, however, is that they were played in the thriving metropolis of New York City, not far from the grounds of the USMA and smack in the middle of Irish-Catholic immigrant territory. To first the Polo Grounds, and Ebbets Field, and then Yankee Stadium and even Shea Stadium they would flock to see the little Catholic school from the Midwest that they only heard about on the radio or read about in Grantland Rice columns. The preferred method of transit (the clackety-clack trains of the Metropolitan Transit Authority) gave rise to the moniker of "subway alumni", a tradition that continues to this day.

So from a lot of vantage points this makes sense. There's a lot of Irish fans who probably wouldn't be willing - or able - to shell out the small fortune necessary to make the round-trip to South Bend. But in the middle of the largest city in America, in a stadium accessible to millions with a simple $4.50 Metro Card, to say nothing of an even bigger sample of fans who are a modest train ride away on Amtrak or the North Shore? It won't be difficult to fill the estimated 47,000 seats, unless we see another "It's Yankee Stadium!!" price scale where face value on the nosebleeds is $50...which, come to think of it, we probably will. Put "affordability" in the maybe column. Anyway, the TV partners go home happy as NBC gets a prime-time college football game for its schedule featuring a brand name and a built-in curiosity factor on the same lines of what's driven viewership for the NHL Winter Classic. Then you factor in the historical significance of the series, the devoted following of veterans and the close proximity to West Point, and this is the kind of sensible solution that includes something for everybody when mapping out a "neutral site game". It makes the 7-4-1 scheduling model almost tolerable...almost. There are plenty of issues with that and we don't need to hash over all of them just now, but for something so rife with problems I have to tentatively say this is the most logical yet of the "in-season bowl games" envisioned by the athletic department.

For those who want to size up any possible "home field advantage", the Irish have an overall record of 15-6-3 at The Stadium, with all but two of those meetings against the Black Knights (the exceptions: 1949 against North Carolina, and 1963 against Syracuse).

Of Hurricanes & Horned Frogs

2009-07-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

The tension has been simmering all summer over future Notre Dame schedules. What schools will be on it? What schools will try but won't be included? How many obnoxiously misplaced "neutral home games" can be squeezed into one calendar year?

Then came today, July 20, 2009. The morning began with this link making the rounds at all of the Notre Dame web-sphere greatest hits - NDNation, Irish Eyes, Mike Frank, Rivals - claiming to have the 2010 final Notre Dame schedule along with the obligatory analysis. The 12-game lineup for the Irish, according to this blog which cited no sources and provided no links (home gaps in caps):

Sept. 4 - PURDUE
Sept. 11 - MICHIGAN
Sept. 18 - @ Michigan St.
Sept. 25 - STANFORD
Oct. 2 - @ Boston College
Oct. 9 - PITTSBURGH
Oct. 23 - @ Navy (Meadowlands)
Oct. 30 - TCU
Nov. 6 - ARMY (@ Yankee Stadium)
Nov. 13 - UTAH
Nov. 20 - TULSA
Nov. 27 - @ Southern Cal

Ten of these opponents were known entities - what ND Nation was waiting (in anticipation? in anxiety?) to hear was who Jack Swarbrick had in mind to fill two open dates on the schedule. For those hoping to rekindle the Miami series, great news - the Hurricane is on the schedule! Bad news, it's the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa, where double Domer Lawrence "Bubba" Cunningham is athletic director. Also on the docket are (again, assuming this is to be believed) the proverbial top dog of Mountain West Conference, the TCU Horned Frogs, who last season posted an 11-2 record, the only losses coming on the road to undefeated Utah (by a field goal) and BCS Title game participant Oklahoma (The Frogs lost 35-10 but only gave the Sooners 25 yards on the ground).

So if I told you that Notre Dame's two open slots on the 2010 schedule were filled by a team coming off an 11-win season where the only losses were to teams that finished #2 and #5 in the AP Poll, and a second team that's gone a combined 21-6 in the past two years, most would say Notre Dame went out and got two competetive opponents. They would say it was something they might be interested in. After we've seen what programs are actually behind Door #2 though, it becomes less Let's Make a Deal and more Who Wants to Tar and Feather an Athletic Director? Judge for yourself. Allow me first to (fruitlessly) state that I'm not trying to be an apologist, I'm just trying to point out that, however probable it all seems in the wake of the Kevin White Error, this schedule being bandied about is still a hypothetical (I'll expand on that point in the next post).

It's not for me to say who is wrong and who is right in the debate over how "good" a team has to be to earn a place on Notre Dame's schedule. It's also, I think, worth pointing out there's no independent verification that this is indeed going to happen. I say that almost as a courtesy because I would place the odds of an upcoming announcement involving Notre Dame, Tulsa, and TCU and way above 50-50. I just would like to see some kind of a source document, that's all.

The point of this post is not for me to rant against the money-grabbing administration or to prop up strawman arguments (after all, I would like to think my point here is that we can be able to avoid going to either of those extremes). What I ask is this:

Should a program with championship aspirations (and even if they may be borderline delusional, Notre Dame does indeed have championship aspirations) be scheduling with the intention of getting "big name" opponents, or scheduling opponents who have quality records and results even if their conference pedigree doesn't stack up with the SEC?

Frame it this way: a popular argument about the BCS is that it is designed to shut out the little guy, it's a tool of "The Man" meant to maintain a rigid system of haves and have-nots in college football. Fans across the country, of programs big and small, rail against it every year and proudly point out moments like Boise State-Oklahoma in '07, or Utah-Alabama last year, as proof that the little guys should get a shot. In the very next breath, when somebody suggests, "Why don't you put those teams on your schedule then?" we hear a wave of righteous indignation about how the very idea of such a creampuff opponent is beneath us. With two concepts in such direct conflict with each other, something clearly has to give.

Notre Dame fans often get chided for living in the past, romanticizing about the days of the single-wing and trying to recapture the glory of a by-gone era. Notre Dame just doesn't get it, they can't accept how much college football has changed, is the popular refrain, usually peppered with far more colorful message board slang. Wouldn't it then be fair to say that part of the sea-change we've seen in college football, with its exploding internet coverage, television packages, blogs, and recruiting-via-Twitter, is the simple reality that you don't have to have an 80-year tradition of excellence to be a good team? To underscore the point, Tulsa & TCU have popped up semi-frequently on Oklahoma's schedule in recent years (the draw of playing the Sooners no doubt offering those programs a boost in money value and recruiting), and I haven't heard a loud chorus in their fanbase going on long tirades about how atrocious their schedule is and how much it hurts in the eyes of the people who matter (i.e., the voters). Then again, I haven't been listening to OU's fanbase all that closely.

I don't have all the answers. I'm just asking questions, and I'll be asking more as conditions warrant.

Where's Golic?

2009-07-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Mike Greenberg filmed an "essay" for the ESPN Fan Feast series, where notable ESPN personalities ruminate on the one sports experience they believe everybody ought to share. I found it amusing that amidst all of his poetic musings on the power of "The Sign" (or PLACT as it is known in shorthand to some), he couldn't make any room in the piece for his radio cohort Mike Golic to perhaps expound on what it was like in the "dark ages" before The Sign. Of course, Greeny did make time for a chuckle-worthy cameo by another Irish icon:
For further reading, the official UND archives has a historical page on The Sign here. Of interesting note - most of the background extras for this piece are ESPN employees. And they say there's a vicious anti-ND bias at the Worldwide Leader.

They Bring You The News

2009-07-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

...so you don't have to get it yourself. ESPN's evaluation of Tommy Rees must've been in the outgoing mail bin when I last checked. This morning's full-scale evalutaion:

The first thing that jumps out about Rees is his release. In fact, we are surprised he has not received more attention due to his delivery alone at this stage. He is a prospect that coaches may look at and see an intriguing prospect three years down the road with upside and late bloomer potential...He can beat the rush with his delivery and while he does not have an elite arm, his release can compensate somewhat. Arm strength is efficient and allows for him to make most, if not all the necessary throws when his feet are set. Rees' overall accuracy is also an impressive trait. Throws a soft, catchable pass that rarely strays to far from the strike zone...while he may not be in the elite category in terms of overall physical tools, he has a high ceiling for development and productivity and is the type of player we could see being a different player down the road than he is now. Good, under the radar prospect.

Utupo & Rees Under The Radar; Reaction Over the Top

2009-07-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

The reaction in some corners to the most recent ND recruiting developments has me in a more reflective mood (more reflective than usual, I guess). It's not to slight these two men who've just signed on to the program when I say I had know idea who they were or if they were being recruited by Notre Dame until after they announced they'd committed. That such a thing would be consider "odd" says a lot more about me, and the somewhat uncomfortable direction the business of college football has been heading in for some time, than it does about these players.

"Recruiting" used to be a lot different. Coaches, particularly old-timers, acknowledge as much when they have to try and pretend that it's really them using Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest high school studs. The explosive powers of the internet have long since put an end to the days when only a select few, if any, high school athletes could garner national attention, to say nothing of the fact that the permanent revolution in the televising and marketing of college sports is expanding the selection of schools every year that a player might find desirable. Put it this way - in 1986, Rocket Ismail knew that only a handful of schools would truly showcase his talent to the whole country, Notre Dame of course being one of them. In today's age, with the power of YouTube and Facebook behind him, Rocket could've been an even bigger star while attending Central Connecticut, because we all would've known about him long before he ever put on a college uniform.

That's why most college football fans are consuming highlight reels and obsessing over star rankings more and more with each passing year. The information is so available - and the players so heavily scrutinized for so long when, only 15 years ago, such proclamations would've been laughed at - that the built-in assumption is that only schools who stockpile 15 "five-star" kids per year are collecting anything resembling a talent base.

To that end, the two commitments Notre Dame picked up on the heels of the July Fourth weekend inspired another idiotic round-robin among the message board and blog community over if the coaching staff had been reduced to scraping the bottom of the barrel. The players in question: DE Justin Utupo (left) of Lakewood, CA & QB Tommy Rees of Lake Forest, IL (above, right). Neither rated in the national top 100 nor the national top 10 at his position. Both were the "last spot", theoretically, for their position in this recruiting class (the Irish now have three defensive ends committed and two quarterbacks, about the norm for a recruiting year which follows one that was light on those roster areas). And both had unwanted distinction of being "the next guy on the list" after other, more highly-touted prospects had chosen schools other than Notre Dame. So the legion of armchair recruiters took to the keyboards and, while not critiquing these two players, certainly held the coaching staff in contempt for "failing" to meet the Notre Dame standard when it comes to the acceptable talent level for recruits. Some of you must surely be thinking "Where have I seen this movie before?"

Of course, I too am an "armchair recruiter" too easily swayed by "eye-popping" scouting reports or ludicrous highlight reel cuts, so it would be unfair of me to launch into a rant about how all the other guys doing the same thing are being unfair. I also would not dispute the notion that if a "bigger name" in the quarterback department such as Blake Bell or Devin Gardner had committed, Tommy Rees probably wouldn't be in the position to get an offer from Notre Dame.

That doesn't mean Rees isn't a good player.

It also doesn't mean he'll blossom into a great player, as if flying below the radar automatically marks one for greatness. Many guys aren't hyped on Scout & Rivals because they just aren't that good (and thank God I never played football to let these guys get a crack at me, because I'd have rated straight zeros). Yet we'd all be well served by remembering that (and the pun is unavoidable here) the stars do not always align. Even if both of these players were the best in their class, the expectation should not be that Rees or Utopo would automatically arrive on campus a starter and rack up untold personal glories along the way (that's what it would be, but that wouldn't make it less absured). We also develop amnesia about the fact that such expectations get thrust on a select 40 to 50 players heading off to many different programs every year, and every year without fail we look back on the class from a few years prior only to wonder how a lot of those other "can't-miss kids" become footnotes in a Where Are They Now? piece. That should tell us how flawed the process is. Yet we (reliably) keep coming back for more.

Over at Blue-Gray Sky, they have made a project of yearly evaluations on how right (and just as often, how comically wrong) those predictions and expectations turned out to be. Checking out the analysis of how the class of 2009 panned out nationally (in other words, which of last year's seniors were supposed to be the best in the country when they came out of high school) gave me pause. For every Rey Maualuga and Jonathon Stewart, bona fide All-Americans and future NFLers, we find a Fred Rouse, Tray Blackmon, or Luther Brown, who never rose above bit player status if they were lucky, and wound up in prison if they weren't (#20 Melvin Alaeze, DE - conveniently enough one of Ron Zook's first "big catches" at Illinois). Heck, the player who earned pretty much unanimous acclaim as the best in his class once he actually, you know, got on the field - Arkansas's Darren McFadden - ranked #51 with Scout.com's national list. Can you imagine anybody during the fall of 2007 arguing that Darren McFadden wasn't one of the 50 best players in the country? But in the spring of 2005, when the recruiting evaluations came, before any one of these players had played a single down, such an opinion might as well have been the law of the land.

So in the end, all I really know about Justin Utupo and Tommy Rees is this: they play football, reasonably well we can assume, as multiple Division I bowl championship subdivision coaching staffs have extended them full scholarship offers (top contenders for Utupo included Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Utah, BYU, Missouri, & Nebraska, while Rees had offers from Tennessee, Stanford, and also Miami-OH where former Irish offensive coordinator Mike Haywood is now head coach). Presumably such offers were extended because every staff believes this two young men can develop both into football players who can help them win and good young men who can represent their school with pride. How long it will take or how "great" they will be is a question beyond anybody's ability to answer. Long ago, in an age before Tom Lemming, this was how it was done all the time. Coaches had a vast informal network of scouts who passed along the word about a certain kid, they followed up, and they either offered the kid a scholarship or not. It was also easier then to offer lots of kids whether they were all great or not, considering the 85-man limit wasn't in effect. But now, in the age of viral videos and high school football on ESPN every week, clearly any kid who doesn't rate a 6.0 on the Rivals.com scale is a bum. Further, and I think this was the point a lot of people were hung up on, the coaches who would even think of recruiting such kids are bums grasping desperately for somebody, anybody, to be a warm body in the class and would be better off at a MAC school.

Of course the irony in all of this is that a lot of the shortcomings of a program (especially Notre Dame) will be be ascribed to a failure of recruiting, and then fans/pundits will try to build up some goodwill and patience during struggles by pointing out "look how good the recruiting is going!", when in truth it may not be all that different than it was before. It's still the crapshoot it was in 1975, it's just that now the average fan who wouldn't know about half of Notre Dame's roster until they actually played against Michigan during their sophomore year now knows about every player on the roster and how they performed during week 2 of their junior year...of high school.

I've said it before, I just think the whole process of recruiting and trying find the "secret" of it is the ultimate chicken-and-egg proposition. To back up my point: last year's Heisman Winner, Sam Bradford? A three-star recruit. Now, was he just 'horribly' misevaluated? Was he superbly developed by a coaching staff that knew his exact talent and molded every part of the offense around him? Was it a combination? Or was it intangibles? From now on, I think I'm gonna adopt a 'Justice Potter Stewart describes pornography' approach to identifying "legit football talent":

I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. And I haven't seen Justin Utupo or Tommy Rees play yet.

However, ESPN has, so here's their take. Get excited or depressed at your own discretion. Utopo:

Utupo is an active defender. He plays a little out of position in high school as a defensive tackle, but we feel he will make the move to defensive end in college. He has solid size though he looks as if he may not be as big as listed. He will use his hands to shed and make a play on the ball. Does a good job of being able to get to the shoulder of the blocker and get in the gap. Does a good job of being able to stay square and keep himself in a position to make a play. He displays good speed and short-area change-of direction skills. He will leave his feet at times, but for the most part is a physical wrap-up tackler. As a pass rusher he can create some push and work off the block. Utupo combines some ability with effort and can be productive.

...and Rees:

No evaluation available at this time.

Doesn't ESPN realize half the ND fanbase is trying to anoint this kid the next Joe Theismann, and the other half is ripping into the staff for "whiffing" on all the good QBs, thereby getting stuck with this bum? Get it together! (Rees' profile does come with video, though.)

Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

2009-06-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

When news rains on the recruiting front, it pours. Perhaps it's because of all the ominous signs of the noose around Charlie Weis' neck, or maybe because of it, that recruiting has taken on a more aching, desperate tone this offseason. With each day passing by without a big name highlight reel to chew over, Irish fans resorted more and more to chewing off their own fingernails.

Well, rest easy and chew on this. In the last 7 days the Irish secured four verbal pledges, each one addressing a key need in the construction of a class that, like the one preceding it which just entered summer school, needs to bring in solid reinforcements rather than ready-to-go standouts at every position (though certainly some positions have a more urgent need than others during this recruiting calendar). But we can do some amateur depth chart engineering at a later. Here are the fab four in no particular order:

Andrew Hendrix, QB, Cincinnati, OH (Moeller High School). You all remember Moeller as the school which gave Notre Dame Gerry Faust - and boy, was that the gift that kept on giving. Moeller's far from the De La Salle-type juggernaut it was during Faust's heyday of the late-'70s, when the Crusaders went unbeaten five tims in six years and were four times picked as the mythical national champions of prep football. Faust then was plucked from Ohio to lead the most storied college football program in the country...and perhaps it is fair to say neither school has been the same since. The word that seems to define Hendrix at this point is "raw", which I guess could be seen as either unproven, or simplyuntapped - obviously a lot of programs saw potential that could be built on with his junior years numbers: 1,700 yards, 11 TDs, and 7 INTs. A far cry from 50+ touchdown throws for recent signal-calling studs, but nonetheless Hendrix fielded offers from the in-state Buckeyes, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Miami, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Maryland. He certainly isn't a finished product from a physical standpoint and isn't the best athlete Weis has recruited at the position - that honor goes to Dayne Crist...yes, even ahead of Demetrius Jones. There's been plenty of positive buzz around Hendrix that ought to only grow with his commitment to the Irish. ESPN's recruit index raved about his arm strength and the possibility of him being "the biggest sleeper of this class", by which they meant nationwide, not strictly Notre Dame.

Blake Lueders, DT, Zionsville, IN (Zionsville HS). An imposing 6'5", Lueders picked Notre Dame over a host of ACC and Big 10 schools. Ranked as a four-star prospect and the #14 player in the nation for his position by Rivals, the story of his commitment phone call fired up a round of chatty internet message board posts about the net gain of having new defensive line coach Randy Hart out on the recruiting trail - Lueders specifically mentioned taking another unofficial visit to South Bend just so his parent could meet Hart and hear his vision for the Irish defense:

“You know the energy he has,” Lueders said. “He exploded with enthusiasm, and started going crazy. He said I made his night and went on and on.”

Lo Wood, CB, Apopka, FL (Apopka HS). It's slightly unfortunate that yes, his name is "Lo" and he hails from "FloRida", prompting what hopefully will be many choruses of "Shawty got low, low, low, low..." from the slightly inebriated students during his upcoming career. The cost of doing business in the era of never-ending one-hit wonders. But I digress. Wood, a 5'10" corner with speed, talent, and plenty of opinions on both, drew almost instant comparisons with RJ Blanton, the locquacious freshman who stepped into the #2 corner spot by season's end and figures to be a starter when the '09 campaign opens. Wood also conducted probably the most theatrical commitment since Jimmy Clausen, calling and then cancelling a press conference at his high school before revealing he was actually at Notre Dame on a second unofficial visit with his father. Notre Dame made the final cut over Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss, and another new addition to Weis's staff received special praise as Wood broke down the decision, singling out his primary recruiter Tony Alford in addition to his future position coach Corwin Brown. What the Irish staff may be lacking in big-stars early on in this campaign they at least make up for with the kind of high-energy recruiting you need to compete in today's college landscape.

Chris Badger, FS, Provo, UT (Timpview HS). If there's one school that knows the perils that come with a committed prospect agreeing to go on a visit to other schools, it's Notre Dame. Some awfully big fish got away like this: Justin Trattou, Omar Hunter, Marlon Pollard, etc. When all the recruitnik headlines the following Monday lead with a variation on "He was blown away", it's even worse news. So it was with Badger, a bruiser in the middle from Utah who had previously committed to Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. That's where Randy Hart enters the picture once again, giving Badger the hard sell to get him to visit, then selling him harder on the beauty and tradition of the Irish program that had Badger's dad (an alum of The Farm and a "big skeptic" on Notre Dame, to use the prospect's own words) wearing a shirt from the Bookstore before the visit ended. Interesting footnote: as one might have guessed given his Utah residency, Badger is Mormon and made a point of spending time on campus with Manti Te'o, who was wrapping up the first week of summer school:

"We went to church together on Sunday for a little while," Badger said. "We both think it's great being out here and representing our church and doing our best to represent our church and being great people and great football players."

All told, a great start to the stretch run of summertime. As tomorrow marks the turn into July, it's hard to believe that the season is just 66 days away. Yet paradoxically it's driving me crazy having to wait 66 more days.

Another One Bites the ResLife...

2009-06-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

I went back and forth on what headline to choose. Suffice to say a ton of stuff has happened in the last 72 hours, all of it in one way shape or form set to have a big impact on the future of the Notre Dame football program. There was addition, subtraction, probably even a little long division. Some friends became enemies, some enemies became friends, and all of those various news items deserves its own separate entry. So, in other words, more to come.

Today though, brought another head-scratching roster alteration that can be laid at the feet of the Office of Residence Life. Earlier in the week, as the full roster of Notre Dame players arrived for summer school and unofficial training camp - including incoming freshman such as Cierre Wood and Manti Te'o - it was announced that tight end Joseph Fauria, who had shown major improvements in spring ball and secured the No. 2 tight end position behind Kyle Rudolph, would be missing the fall semester for the never-promising "personal reasons":

The university says that Fauria has not enrolled for personal reasons and will not be enrolled in the fall semester either.

Charlie Weis will be losing a valuable asset at tight end, and hopes to have him back.

"Joseph won't be with us this fall but I hope to have him return for the spring semester," Weis said in a statement.

Fauria confirmed as much - his plan to return after a semester, similar to the path of Darrin Walls & Gary Gray - to the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday. Well, you know what they say: men plan, ResLife laughs.

By Friday, Fauria had announced his intention to transfer, stating that he'd asked for (and received) his release and would look to remain close to home on the west coast, possibly at a Pac-10 school. The news (so far) has been reported only by Mike Frank's very reliable Irish Sports Daily. Mike runs a premium news site so I hope I'm not jailbreaking some exclusive news, but the official statements from Fauria are here and haven't been restricted by any password info, so judge for yourself. The especially relevant words:

Fauria again said that he was disappointed because he felt that he was doing the right things on the field and in the classroom.

“The truth is I had a really good spring. I pushed for my number two spot on the depth chart and that’s where I was. I had a 3.0 GPA,” he said.

He also said that his transfer had nothing to do with the Irish football program.

“I’m not leaving because of the coaching staff. I love all of the coaches. My tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee was amazing, my recruiting coordinator Brian Polian, I was really close to him, he was great,” said Fauria. “I loved being coached by Coach Weis. It was great, he knew what he was doing. I’m proud to say that I was coached by him and that I was able to play for him. The reason why this took me so long is because of my friends on the team and my friends at the school.”

Fauria said that the way the University staff handled a situation caused him to make his decision.

“ I’ve always been a fan of Notre Dame, but I was mistreated by the Office of Residence Life,” he said. “They mistreated me very much. Something happened at school and I don’t think the punishment fit the crime. They didn’t handle the situation how it should have been handled. I guess they were trying to make an example out of me and I was not the person to do it to.”

Fauria did not go into detail about exactly what happened.

“I wasn’t being handcuffed or anything, but I’m not going to go into detail with that,” he said. “I’ll leave it open for interpretation."

Now as a former employee of the Office of Residence Life, I want to put forward the one caveat of my experience, which I myself am fully guilty of: when you're 18, 19 years old, it's pretty much a guarantee that you'll feel the punsihment didn't fit the crime.

Having said that...I'm with Fauria on this one. I also don't need to leave my statement open to interpretation (even as I speak without all the facts)

This is yet another case of ResLife drawing a line in the sand and deciding that, heaven forbid we acknowledge still-maturing young men and women can make mistakes, we have a standard here and if you fall below that standard, you are taken out with rest of the trash where you belong. And again, having been on the inside, I can say that's it not a simple case of Notre Dame being unduly harsh on athletes - this crap happens to kids who never got closer to the football field than the 47th row of the stadium. There are indeed some kids who simply had it coming, but I personally figure that it wouldn't be so horrible to at least adhere to a three-strikes policy.

If Bill Kirk were a movie character, he'd be George Banks from Mary Poppins: "Madam, kindly do not attempt to cloud the issue with facts." Not to mention common sense.

Return Engagements

2009-06-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

We've been negligent. We have failed in our obligations as ardent watchdogs against complacency and ineptitude. We have...

Sorry, for a moment this post was kicking off as if it were President Obama's annoucement on creating a new consumer credit agency. We're far too shallow and football-obsessed to raise our game to that level.

But we are coming back, starting today - you may not have noticed that we were away for awhile, but that's fine. In all honesty, we didn't notice either. But having made the bold choice to resume blogger coverage, we couldn't have the first post back be about just any old thing. What topic could prove worthy of our renewed attention?

Recruiting developments, such as the verbal pledges of Cincinnati's Alex Welch, New Jersey's Bennett Jackson, or South Bend's very own Daniel Smith? Eh, old news. Besides, the current "shockwave" in Irish recruiting circles is...
The commitment the Irish didn't get, from Nick Montana? The youngest of ND legend Joe's four kids, the four-star QB from Oaks Christian Academy (Jimmy Clasuen's alma mater) chose to become the signature recruit in new Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian's first class, giving Sark a ratio of 1 marquee recruit to zero games coached at UW. This puts him comfortably ahead of his predecessor, the Molder of Men, who clocked in at a robust 0.5:48 in that department (half credit for Jake Locker, which gets bumped to a full credit if/when he manages to stay healthy for a full year). And spare me the smart-aleck "You just can't let Tyrone go, can you" replies, which leads to the next story...
...the answer to the age-old question of "Who got paid more by the University of Notre Dame in 2008, Charlie Weis or Ty Willingham?" Apparently Tyrone landed on his feet just fine. Nothing I say is gonna cause him to lose any sleep. If anything I'm keeping the man modest (not like he needs help on that score). But we still don't have a worthy blog post yet.
Wait, how about the potential scheduling news, like Army at Yankee Stadium, or rumored discussions/pinings for a series with Wisconsin, Miami, or Texas? Eh, some smoke there, but too little fire.
The insanely early pre-season rankings beginning to leak out there, such as ESPN (Notre Dame's #17) or Phil Steele (who put the Irish at 7 and rated Golden Tate a first-team All-American. I will have what he's having)? It's...June. Too early. Just too early.
Joe Paterno finally ascending to Bo Schembechler's throne as the grouchy old man of the Big Ten by implying Notre Dame might need the Conference That Can't Count, but they want no part of Notre Dame? I'm gonna stick this one in my back pocket for later.
Coach Weis' venture into that strange vortex of time-wasting terror known as the "Twitter-verse"? I'm ashamed to admit I do an almost daily check-in for his posts. Which begs the question Obi-Wan once posed: "Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?"
The controversy over President Obama's appearance at Notre Dame's commencement exercises and the predictably lame wisecrack he made about the football team afterwards? What did I say at the top about not having the class to get all polticial around here?

So we've chucked aside pretty much everything Notre Dame related that happened in the past three months, which when you look at in sum doesn't add up to much. I just want to hit fast forward to Sept. 6th already. That's no way to end a blog post though. We need to offer up our own original spin on something, so we arrive at Monday's "I shall return" two-fer in the two marquee sports.

Granted, one was official and the other conditional, and the players involved are returning to very different circumstances, but each one addresses a vital need for their respective programs. First we have former Big East Player of the Year in basketball, Luke Harangody, who went through a "ho-hum" junior season where he was the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. Yes, you read that right. Not Blake Griffin, not Hasheem Thabeet, not even God himself, Tyler Hansbrough. There was one player who was Top 10 in points and boards, and he plays for Notre Dame. Unfortunately a seven-game losing streak in late January knocked the Irish to the far corner of the NCAA Tournament discussion and the season fizzled with an NIT berth (the Irish lost to Penn State in the semifinals).

The news of Harangody's return, proudly broken on Mike Brey's entry into the Twitter-verse, comes as a perfect jolt in the arm for a program that might not be on the down-side of the NCAA bubble for long. The Irish have a good mix of talent returning (or entering) the fold next year, depending on how willing you are to consider transfers Scott Martin and Ben Hansbrough - yes, he's related - as "returning" starters. Include Tory Jackson and what figures to be a more developed rotation with Jonathon Peoples, Tyrone Nash, potentially Carleton Scott & redshirt sophomore Tim Abromaitis, along with incoming freshman Joey Brooks & Jack Cooley, the Irish might not suffer such a steep drop-off in depth as everybody expected (though it turned out they weren't as deep as many believed in 2008-09, a critical reason for the mid-season collapse).

All things being equal, though, the story "behind" the story for Notre Dame basketball is that they should manage to stay about where they were while the Big East heavyweights come back to Earth around them. Again, that's a "supposed" view point. The Irish and Georgetown were supposed to be right in the thick of a juggernaut Big East last year and...well, you know how that turned out. Let's take the glass-is-half-full approach though, and put it this way: between a conference that suffered massive losses of star power via graduations and early NBA departures, a softer non-conference schedule, and now having the only returning member of last year's all-conference team, the Irish ought to once again shoot back up the Big East rankings. At the very least, they will not see a repeat of the eight-game death march where they played, in order: @ Louisville, @ Syracuse, UConn, Marquette, @ Pittsburgh, @ Cincinnati, @UCLA, Louisville. For those scoring at home, all 8 of those teams finished with winning records, 7 of them made the NCAAs, and three of them earned #1 seeds. Not even featured in that meat grinder were West Virgnia and Villanova, a #3 seed which went to the Final Four. So yeah, the conference should get easier while Notre Dame figures to at least stay where they are, if not improve given the return of a star player on a mission. Just before Brey broke out the Twitter, Harangody used that oh-so-2006 tool of text messaging to offer his coach a modest proposal: "Let's go win the Big East."

Right about the time Harangody and Brey were exchanging 140-character high-fives, Eric Hansen on the South Bend Tribune was reporting - also via the Twitter-verse! - that another surprise return could be in the offing at the Notre Dame football offices. In this case the player in question wasn't a returning All-American, but his taking of a fifth year could go a long way towards assuaging Irish anxiety. We speak here of Evan Sharpley, journeyman quarterback who figured to have played his last snaps during garbage time of the 2008 Hawai'i Bowl.

Having completed the football season, all signs pointed toward the end of a gridiron career as Sharpley skipped spring workouts to focus on baseball, where it sure seemed like a corner had been turned during his junior year (.324 with 13 HR and 40 RBI). A great follow-up never materialized unfortunately, and Evan's final go-round on the diamond ended with a mere .223 batting average and 5 homers. His raw power was still enough to get noticed by somebody though, as the Seattle Mariners took him in the 50th and final round of Major League Baseball's draft last week (Sharpley's teammate, centerfielder AJ Pollock, became the highest-ever selection out of Notre Dame in the same draft, picked 17th overall by the Diamondbacks). Considering how often corner infielders ascend to a big league roster as 50th-round picks, it was a smart move for Sharpley (at Weis's suggestion) to quietly go through the application process for a fifth year after the spring semester ended.

There were two competing schools of thought on this one: a) that it was a positive for Sharpley to return and provide some needed depth at the QB position while also bettering himself with a year of post-graduate work for life after football, all while getting a summer to prove himself in pro baseball (the Mariners agreed to let Sharpley return at the start of fall training camp, similar to the deal Jeff Samardzija cut with the Cubs before his senior season in 2006). Then there was b) Weis is so desperate for a quarterback he's reaching to the scrap pile after whiffing on Jake Heaps, Blake Bell, Nick Montana, Austin Hinder, and every other good quarterback in the universe...or something like that.

Look, it's true that if either Demetrius Jones or Zach Frazer were still at Notre Dame, Sharpley likely would've played his last season in '08. Ditto if Weis already had a quarterback in the fold either as an incoming freshman or a rising high school junior. But even if that were the case, that the Irish had a commitment from a Montana or some such, that wouldn't exactly do much to plug one of the holes in the current rosts, which is the kind that seems insignificant (who ever really thinks about the thrid string anyway?) until the moment you need it, at which point it gets exposed for the gigantic sieve that it is. Phrased differently: as the roster currently stands, the Irish are one snap away from untested redshirt freshman Dayne Crist having to take over the offense. And if that came to pass, the Irish would then be one snap away from probable disaster with either walk-on Nate Montana or emergency QB John Goodman at the reins. So the question becomes do you want flashbacks to the Pat Dillingham era if an injury crisis erupts in 2009, or at least some tested veteran presence in the 'last resort' spot? At quarterback, it's a good idea to go three-deep.

Safe to assume that both of these players are welcomed back with open arms, with the caveat of course that there are no guarantees in this life, particularly in the case of Harangody. Now that they're back, so are we. Buckle up, Irish fans - it's going to be a very interesting year.

iPhone, Blog Home...

2009-04-17T00:34:00.001-07:00

Alright, time to see if this mobile blogging thing works. This was sent from my iPhone. No, really. Couldn't make that up.

To attempt to put a traditon in words...

2009-04-06T20:03:00.001-07:00

There are no spectators...just patrons.

There is no rough...just the first cut.

There are no chop blocks...just civilized clashes.

And there are no corporate tents...just the Butler Cabin.

As Spring starts to show its face across the country, the Masters emerges as a reminder to everyone that there is that something special about the world's best tackling Alister MacKenzie's masterpiece at the site of a former Georgia indigo plantation. The venue is unique in that the golfing world has had the chance to get to know the same track over the years - a luxury not afforded by the other three majors.

Sure - the driving range net has been raised in the last few years and additional property has been acquired to lengthen the 13th hole. And yes, as Jim Nantz reminded us 24 times during the NCAA championship, there will be "live streaming coverage" available online of all the action at Amen Corner during the 2009 tournament.

But Mr. Jones would be proud. "The National", as the locals call it, has withstood many of the pressures of the corporate 21st century. One could draw a few parallels here to Notre Dame and the attempt to preserve its unique heritage. Both at Augusta and at Notre Dame, this tradition speaks for itself...for to attempt to put it into any more words than that would be a worthless cause.

Enjoy the tournament this year.

Bubble Bursts

2009-03-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

Barring an unprecedented run next week in an arena they always seem to have a difficult time in, Notre Dame will not be making a third straight trip to the NCAA basketball tournament.

The odds certainly weren't in the Irish's favor as the calendar flipped to March, with them scrambling desperately to recover ground after a seven game losing streak across January and February. But the dream is now officially over for Mike Brey's team after a close battle tonight with #16 Villanova turned into a blowout over the final 8 minutes, with a final of 77-60 that felt like a much closer game for a long time - except when it counted the most. We can play the blame game at a later date; at this moment, what seemed to be so promising back in Maui has fizzled and died on the vine before getting the chance to flow deep into March as we all hoped it would. Post mortem to follow.

Taste of the Islands

2009-02-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

So, last Wednesday Notre Dame signed its recruiting class. It was a modest haul by many estimates, with the class ranking somewhere in the lower half of the top 25 by the major evaluation services - 24th by Scout, 20th by Rivals, 14th by ESPN - but the Irish got a big boost right at the finish with the signing of Manti Te'o:

Just to get an obligatory Anchorman quote out of the way, Te'o is kind of a big deal. People know him. He has many leather-bound scalps of running backs who've been flattened into the Earth by one of his hits, which you can scope out on numerous YouTube videos. He was also the consensus National Defensive Player of the Year whom the trudging, "bumbling" 7-6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat out the USC Trojans for. That's a nice accomplishment. It wouldn't hold a candle to actually beating them on the field of play, but don't discredit the effort that went in to convincing a player of Te'o's caliber to join the Irish. This was a great performance by Charlie Weis and his top recruiting lieutenant, much-maligned special teams coach Brian Polian.

Perhaps the biggest immediate impact Te'o might have is a psychological one, his presence alone seeming to help keep up the momentum from Notre Dame's bowl victory in Hawai'i. It also netted the Irish a small but speedy teammate in wide receiver Roby Toma, a now ex-UCLA commitment with a slight frame that still houses a 4.45 speed. Additionally, Te'o jumping on board was all the evidence that Oakland, CA linebacker/defensive end Chris Martin needed - he gave Weis his verbal commitment for the class of 2010 before the ink was dry on the 2009 letters of intent. He also has a pretty good spiel ready for the intense recruiting that follows instead of precedes a commitment these days:

“I call it a script, but it comes from the heart,” said the 6-foot-4, 232-pound junior defensive end/outside linebacker from Oakland, Calif., who last week verbally committed to Notre Dame to be part of its 2010 freshman football class.

“When other coaches call me, I’m going to be up front and honest,” the Bishop O’Dowd High standout said. “I’m going to say, ‘I appreciate the attention you’re giving me. But I’m committed to Notre Dame, and that commitment is solid.’ ”

Pause, pause. Click.

Here's the 3-minute slice of Weis on Signing Day courtesy of Rivals.

Weis recaps wild Signing Day @ Rivals Video

Again, Read Your Email, Please...

2009-02-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

There's not much point in having the blog email box open for business (and putting up a post trumpeting that announcement) if you're not actually going to live up to your word and check the mail. Or update the blog. To wit....

I'm getting heat from my fellow "inside circle" that signing day has passed and there is no blog from George. We're all waiting.

Hope all is well with you...somebody mentioned it and I thought it a good chance to give you some crap.

It was either this or diss the Sox.

Ken Girouard

Diss the Sox? He wouldn't dare.

When the Streak is Over

2009-01-26T23:50:00.000-08:00

Looking at Notre Dame's upcoming schedule two Monday afternoons ago, a friend remarked, "They're in trouble". I responded that they ought to be alright as long as they could defend their home court, as that would mean three quality wins in an insanely tough league. And what if they don't, he asked. "Well," I replied, "then they'll be in trouble."

After tonight's discouraging 71-64 loss to #8 Marquette, the Irish aren't merely in trouble - they're on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament less than three weeks removed from being ranked in the Top 10. To look at this glass as still-half-full, if the season were to end right now, Notre Dame would undoubtedly have one of the strongest arguments among fringe contenders considering the schedule they've played inside the conference and out, plus the fact that they have nailed down wins against Georgetown & Texas while pushing Louisville to overtime and taking UConn and Marquette to the final minutes. The flip side, of course, is that all three of those losses (not to mention a Syracuse game that turned from a 5-point contest into a 19-point loss during the final six minutes) were games the Irish had a chance to win; they couldn't close the deal even once. At some point you're no longer a good team that's missing breaks - you're just a mediocre one that can't finish (see Notre Dame's '05-'06 season). Plus, this was not supposed to be a team that was sweating out making the NCAAs come February.

The numerous opportunities lost had to be the most frustrating part of this weekend's double-dip, a two-game skid that snapped a 45-game winning streak at the Joyce Center. In both the 69-61 loss to #3 Connecticut as well as Monday's rivalry game with Marquette (especially the primetime tilt with UConn), the Irish weren't undone by anything out of the ordinary coming from their opponent. They simply could not make open shots that were there to be made. Kyle McAlarney dropped in three 3-pointers in the first five minutes aginst the Huskies, then missed 15 straight shots. What was more maddening was that unlike in tonight's Marquette game, when the Golden Eagles played splendid defense by rotating their speedy guards to drape a defender on him all night, Kyle was looking at the basket free and uncontested a bunch of times. None of them went in.

The same fate befell Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland, who were a combined 2-of-15 for 4 points against UConn, which prompted Mike Brey to shuffle the deck and pull them from the starting lineup for Monday. It worked as far as getting some stronger production out of the players who replaced them - Jonathon Peoples in particular answered with a pair of big 3-pointers to finish with 8 points, as did Luke Zeller with 8 points and 8 rebounds. The switch did nothing to stop the tailspin of the two senior captains however, who "outdid" themselves by combining to go 0-for-10 in their new role as reserves (Hillesland left the Maqruette game with an ankle injury in the second half and did not return, though Brey suggested that the ankle alone wasn't the reason he didn't play the final 13 minutes).

Nobody's mistaking Notre Dame for a "deep" team, in the way a few select ones like North Carolina are with four to five NBA lottery picks on their two-deep. But earlier in the season they were getting quality production from all seven players in their normal rotation as well as star-making turns from Harangody and McAlarney. Luke's still getting the attention as he continues to put up Player of the Year-type performances game after game, because that's what kind of player he is. But everybody needs a supporting cast and right now he doesn't have one. Is it fatigue alone that's causing a lot of misses on shots we've seen them make before? Possibly. For comparison, let's look at the Big East's top two teams in UConn and Pittsburgh. They both have 8 players who average at least 10 minutes per game; Notre Dame has 7. Far more significantly, Notre Dame alone has four players who average more than 30 minutes per game; Pitt and UConn put together have just three (Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet for the Huskies, Levance Fields for the Panthers).

So now we have the good news/bad news proposition. Bad news first: things are not going to get any easier. First the Irish have to play in Pittsburgh on Saturday, where it'll be interesting to see the matchup of Harangody and Dejaun Blair. Then they have three days off before going to Cincinnati, and while Cincy may not be part of the Big East's top shelf, they were still good enough to hang around against Xavier & UConn. They've also accomplished what Notre Dame could not with a win at St. John's (though that was aided by the Red Storm's best player, DJ Kennedy, getting ejected from the game). After Cincy it's off to Westwood on Saturday morning (seriously: tip-off's at 10 AM Pacific) against UCLA, then back home to face Louisville on Thursday February 12th. All told it will mean having played 6 games against teams in the Top 10 in three weeks, 7 against the Top 20 (UCLA is currently #16). It's an impressive stat to put on a resume for the Selection Committee - but you have to come up with some wins. Who you played is a factor, but it's who you can manage to beat that separates you from the NIT. Right now the Irish are sorely wanting in the latter category.

But remember, in every problem lies opportunity: sure they have to play Pitt, UCLA, and Louisville. Here's the good news for the Irish: snag a victory in one of those games and it'll go a long way towards helping them; if they could take two out of three and tack on a win versus Cincinnati, they'll get out of this stretch roughly intact and with the hardest part of the season behind them. I've seen the Bruins play - the Irish can hang with them. We already know they can match Louisville and they get the benefit of playing at home this time. And after the Cards leave they get to the more charitable portion of their conference schedule which includes South Florida, Rutgers, and another game against St. John's, plus Villanova, West Virginia, and Providence, three teams more on the Irish's level as teams that are 'pretty good, but with noticeable holes' - though two of those games are on the road (WVU and Providence).

In the immediate post mortem, there's only one conclusion: 'The Streak' may be over, but the battle has only just begun for the cagers. Here's hoping Kyle McAlarney and the boys and can rise to the challenge.

Digger Phelps and Bob Knight were laughing before Saturday night's game against Connecticut, the first time the basketball version of ESPN's popular "College Gameday" had traveled to South Bend.

Change Partners

2009-01-19T14:34:00.000-08:00

The gears have been turning for several weeks on the Notre Dame coaching front, prodded by both factors real and imagined. Example of the real: facing the dismal reality of a 10-15 record the past two years. Example of the imagined:

By the way, one of my Bucs peeps tells me that the word around the Bucs is that Gruden could be going to Notre Dame to replace Charlie Weis. Sounds a little farfetched, but as the theory goes: The school will buy out Weis as soon as he signs his recruiting class, in two or three weeks, and hire Gruden. Heard from someone close to the Notre Dame program that there's a weird vibe around the football offices. Hmmm.

This Jon Gruden thing needs to be put to rest. It's like the ghost of Hamlet's father, appearing out of the mist in the woods every couple of years just to prove he's still there, whether you like it or not. And could the NY Daily News possibly expand on the idea of what constitutes a "weird vibe"? Of course not, because then they'd actually have to back up the assertion with something resembling the facts. It's not to say that Charlie Weis is above scrutiny, or that Gruden shouldn't be considered if/when the time comes to find a new head football coach at Notre Dame, but these wild conspiracy theories about how his hiring under the Dome is imminent have somehow not managed to die in the last eight years. It boggles the mind.

In the last 10 days though, wrapping around the annual convention of college football coaches in Nashville, there were a couple of seismic shifts on the Notre Dame staff:

John Latina resigned/terminated, Frank Verducci hired as his replacement

As was the case with Jappy Oliver, the official word on Notre Dame's embattled offensive line coach was that he "resigned to pursue other opportunities". Face-saving tactics aside, the writing was on the wall regarding why a change was taking place, and nobody seemed to know it more than Latina:

Latina said in a phone interview Wednesday night the decision to leave Notre Dame was a mutual one.
"It's a mutual thing. It is what it is, right," Latina said. "This is what is going on. I enjoyed my four years here, learned a lot being here and loved it. Notre Dame is an awesome place.
"Right now, coach is going to go in a different direction and it's as simple as that."
Latina said, though, the decision to leave South Bend was not a surprise to him. Notre Dame struggled on the offensive line the past two seasons. In 2007, the Irish allowed a then-NCAA record 58 sacks and gained 75.2 yards on the ground a game. The Irish improved statistically in 2008 -- allowing [22] sacks and gaining 109.69 yards a game on the ground -- but were still far away from an elite unit.

"I've been in it 30 years," Latina said. "Any time things don't go as well as you want it, no matter where you are, those things can happen. It's the nature of the game and a business.

"I've enjoyed my four years here, loved it here and it was great for me. Now, it's time to look for another thing."

The Irish quickly did an about-face and introduced Latina's replacement, another coaching veteran in Frank Verducci. Most recently of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, Verducci has floated around the pro ranks since 1999, from Cincinnati to Dallas to Buffalo before spending the past two years under Romeo Crennel. Prior to that he's spent 18 years in college, the majority of it in the Big Ten at Iowa and Northwestern. Verducci's title in the Dawg Pound was "Offensive Assistant Coach", which according to ND's press release entails "assisting the offensive coordinator in framing the run game, presenting the weekly opponent scouting report to the offense and installing Friday's game plan to the offensive unit. Verducci assisted the play caller on game day's with situational offense and was responsible for clock management."

Taking it at face value, the Verducci hire is once again a dip into the familiar for Weis, as he has a lot of acumen with the zone blocking schemes Weis prefers. Verducci also would seem like a person comfortable in the nominal "offensive coordinator" role that Mike Haywood sometimes awkwardly handled during his time in South Bend. There hasn't been a lot of rumbling about a potential OC hire, which leads me to think that Weis might simply be dropping the charade and taking full charge of the offense without a go-between. There could still be some movement in that category though, so let's call it 'unsettled'. For now, Verducci assumes stewardship of a line that ought to be sky-high on potential (with certified blue-chip prospects such as Sam Young, Dan Wegner, Chris Stewart, Eric Olson, & Trevor Robinson plus open competition at the left tackle spot) yet has come up woefully short on results each of the past two seasons.

Tony Alford named Running Backs Coach

Just hours ago another coaching press release went out, announcing the hire of 40-year old Tony Alford from Louisville to take Haywood's other position as running backs coach - again, notably, only as running backs coach. Alford was an All-WAC running back at Colorado State during the late 1980s before beginning his coaching career at Division III powerhouse Mount Union, quickly moving up to Kent State and then Iowa State, where he spent most of his career (1997-2006, with a brief one season stop at Washington in 2001).

If nothing else, coming from Louisville gives Alford plenty of experience in shaping a running attack that comes secondary behind throwing the ball. In 2008 he coached redshirt freshman Victor Anderson to a 1,000 yard season and helped UL average 164.5 yards/game on the ground (it was 137.5 per game in '07), and during his first four years at Iowa State he oversaw a rushing attack that rose from 103rd to 17th nationally. Additionally, he has experience with the type of national recruitment one expects at Notre Dame, having worked California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas along with Iowa and Michigan.

So now the work begins for Verducci and Alford as the new partnership for the Irish offense under the grand architect (and yes, even if Weis does bring in an offensive coordinator, there's no ambiguity about who the architect of the offense is going to be).

Into the Breach

2009-01-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

The 13th-ranked Men's Basketball team kicked off one of the more grueling stretches in program history on Monday night with an 87-73 loss (in overtime) to #20 Louisville. Starting with that game and moving down to February 12th, when the Irish host the Cardinals in South Bend, Mike Brey's veteran lineup will play 7 ranked opponents in 8 games:

Jan 12th - @ #20 Louisville - L, 87-73
Jan 17th - @ #8 Syracuse
Jan 24th - #4 Connecticut
Jan 26th - #14 Marquette
Jan 31st - @ #1 Pittsburgh
Feb 4th - @ Cincinnati
Feb 7th - @ #9 UCLA
Feb 12th - #20 Louisville

One of the keys for the Irish over this month is how they handle adversity during the constant back-and-forth, game-within-the-game battles that typify the Big East. Monday night's tilt in Louisville was a good example, as the two squads each traded runs throughout the first 30 minutes. A younger Notre Dame team probably wouldn't have stood up to some of those 9-0 spurts the Cardinals went on and let the game spiral out of control, but for the first 3/4 of the game they had an answer for everything the Cards threw at them.

Unfortunately, Monday's game also highlighted what has long been stated as a staple of the Mike Brey era at Notre Dame - the inability to close out a tough win, particularly on the road. After Luke Harangody hit a free throw to complete a three-point play with 5:35 left, the Irish didn't score again in regulation. Coming out of a timeout with 24 seconds to play and the ball in their hands, the Irish couldn't manage to get a shot off for the win in regulation. Then in overtime, exhausted after playing nearly the entire game without reinforcements (Harangody played all 45 minutes, Kyle McAlarney 44, Tory Jackson 43, & Ryan Ayers 39) the Irish got outscored 16-2.

With such a withering slate in front of them, these depth issues have to be confronted sooner as opposed to later. I try to avoid reading the tea leaves, but it seems like playing time for Jonathon Peoples and Tyrone Nash vanished overnight once the Irish reached the conference slate. If Brey's really that confident that a six-man rotation can get it done, then I suppose I want whatever he's having. There's a fine line between trusting your veterans and leaving them out to dry, and Brey is definitely flirting with it when he reduces his bench down to Luke Zeller...and nobody else. After both Peoples and Nash played 10+ minutes during the loss at St. John's, all but one minute has been logged by juniors and seniors, and with exception of Zeller it's been pretty much a starter's only affair. In Monday's overtime loss, Peoples made a brief (and forgettable) appearance spelling Jackson which included getting stuffed on a shot attempt as well as committing two turnovers.

The question I find myself asking is this - could it just be happenstance that Nash and Peoples have seen thier minutes drastically cut at the first sign of trouble in the New Year? This is a long-standing pattern - Brey loosens the lineups throughout non-conference play, then rigidly falls into a six, possibly seven, man rotation come January. And while this Irish team is a Top 20 unit even with their six-man rotation, they could be something even better if they started mingling a little depth and versatility. As presently constructed, they present challenges to their opponent for sure, but challenges that aren't hard to overcome. The reason the Irish lost at Madison Square Garden wasn't because some of the youngsters cost the Irish, it was because the Red Storm were bound and determined to keep McAlarney in check, which they did in holding him to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. It may only be mid-January but you've got to come up with ways to keep your key guys fresh - McAlarney alone has already played the full 40 minutes six times this seasons, and played fewer than 30 just once. Trading some minutes with Peoples and Jackson as the backcourt and doing more to rotate in Nash (plus a little Carleton Scott, maybe?) up front will keep teams away from the simple "stop one and stop their whole team" defense employed by SJU.

How the Irish emerge from this slate will go a long way to determining their NCAA Tournament fate. If they can protect their home court and then find a way to steal at least one of the road games, they'll be locked in and preparing to spend the month of February improving their seed. But they could go out and play solid basketball only to drop five, six, or even (gasp) seven in a row - such is the quality of their opponents. That would leave them scrambling and likely needing a big flourish in the back end of their conference schedule in order to make the NCAA field. I don't think Irish basketball fans have any reason to worry about Selection Sunday nerves...yet. As I mentioned to Thomas the other day, I will be very surprised if the champion of the Big East has fewer than four losses. The conference is not only just that good, but once again home court is everything - take for example Georgetown, whom Notre Dame just beat last Monday, returning home to defeat #8 Syracuse, who host the Irish some 48 hours from now in the bitter cold of upstate New York. Once more, into the breach, indeed.

Carrousel, Recruiting Edition

2009-01-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Perhaps it was inevitable, but for a third straight season Notre Dame lost a recruit in January, although this time it could hardly qualify as an earth-shattering development. The recruit in question was Marlon Pollard, cornerback out of San Bernadino, CA. Pollard had once been a UCLA commit - since the end of his sophomore season - but opened things back up after the dismissal of Karl Dorrell, then pledged to join the Irish last July. Beyond that, however, he's been something of an invisible man on the recruiting front, and things finally came to a head when Rick Neuheisel convinced him to make an official visit to Westwood this weekend.

Every year there's kids who change their minds (Notre Dame still has one in their camp, wideout Shaquelle Evans) and every case is different. Unlike the past two years, where it seemed that a little bit of subterfuge and deliberate misleads marked the cases of Justin Trattou and Omar Hunter, Pollard's situation seems pretty cut and dry. He committed after an impromptu visit to campus last summer and finally met, in person, most of the key coaches and players for Notre Dame once he made his official visit for the Stanford game. At the time it just seemed like a fortunate bounce of the ball for the Irish, having a top player out on the market after a coaching change at his program of choice, but from the get-go there's a concern that once somebody changes his mind once, he's liable to change it again (see Kapron Lewis-Moore from last year's recruting cycle). And Rick Neuheisel is nothing if not an aggressive recruiter, clearly winning over Pollard's mother in the process. Explaining the decision to switch back once more, the 6'1" Pollard stated, "I've just always been a Bruin." Browsing through his photos at Rivals and Scout, it's tough to find a picture of him where he's not decked out in UCLA gear, so it's not hard to see where he's coming from.

What remains to be seen is how or if this changes the landscape of Notre Dame's 2009 recruiting class. With regard to defensive backs, the Irish looked pretty set over the summer when they landed Pollard and Pennsylvania's EJ Banks. Now Pollard has gone back home and Banks will be in the middle of rehabbing a torn ACL when he enrolls early along with Tyler Stockton and Zeke Motta. Still, it's not like cornerback is a place where the Irish need a ton of talent and need it now - they have Raeshon McNeil & Sergio Brown, plus Darrin Walls (with two years of eligibility), Robert Blanton (3 years) and Jamoris Slaughter (4 years). The depth issue would be a little clearer if there was a resolution on Jashaad Gaines, who's in the same class as Walls and McNeil but was not in school this past semester; unlike Walls there's been no indication he will return. The same goes for Gary Gray, who did not make the bowl trip and will not be enrolled this coming semester according to the South Bend Tribune (the Trib noted that "the expectation [for Gray] is a return to school and the team this summer").

With just over three weeks to go until Signing Day, there are still a few key prospects the Irish are in on, but now comes the added intrigue of if they'll try late to add another target, as they did a year ago in last-minute pushes to secure Kapron Lewis-Moore and almost snare Milton Knox away from UCLA. Stay tuned.

On a Carrousel

2009-01-09T15:37:00.000-08:00

As he set aside the flurry of speculation over Charlie Weis' job security following the USC game, athletic director Jack Swarbrick made it clear that Weis was being retained with the explicit understanding that things were going to have to change both on and off the football field for 2009. Obviously not everything that's transpired in the two weeks since the Irish got off the bowl schneid has been at Swarbrick's request, but circumstances are indeed beginning to alter around the Irish as we hurdle into January, when the coaches carrousel really starts to gain momentum. As far as Notre Dame is concerned...

Mike Haywood accepted the head coaching job at Miami (Ohio), having previously been a candidate for vacancies at the University of Houston and University of Washington. The news broke shortly before the Irish beat the Hawai'i Warriors on Christmas Eve and Haywood was officially introduced the following Tuesday. The fact that Haywood landed a head coaching job is not surprising - given his previous stints at power programs LSU and Texas along with his recruiting ability, plus being named the nation's top assistant football coach in 2005, it was only a matter of time. What is interesting is how many Irish fans seemed to view the news with a healthy dose of, "Good riddance!", as if Haywood alone should foot the blame for what happened in the second half of the season. Through 7 games, the Irish offense was indeed flying high, racking up over 450 total yards in four straight games heading into November. We all know what happened next. But could it really have been just a case of not following the basic rule to "Keep it simple, stupid"? That seemed to be the suggestion raised in one particularly eye-opening quote from Mike's introductory press conference in Oxford:

We were having so much success, that we thought we could add a lot more material, and the only thing we did was complicate things for the quarterback. With the time off we had before the bowl game, we were able to regain the quarterback’s confidence, and the players regained their confidence, allowing them to be successful in the (bowl) game.

In addition to needing a new offensive coordinator, the Irish also will now be looking for a new defensive line coach as Jappy Oliver, who came over with Rick Minter to fill out Weis' original staff, has resigned/been fired after four seasons. (First reports indicated Oliver had been dismissed; Notre Dame released an official statement saying Oliver resigned to "pursue other opportunities" - which makes sense as his name has been mentioned for Haywood's staff at Miami). Semantics regarding his departure aside, Oliver's tenure with the Irish d-line has been defined by ups and downs - the development of players like Trevor Laws on the plus-side, the baffling lack of development out of players like John Ryan on the down. On the whole the best thing you can say is that Oliver produced something decent out of a bad situation, as defensive line was one short step above offensive line for the distinction of most sorely mismanaged position under the previous regime. Yet despite having quality players early (Victor Abiamiri and Laws come to mind) as well as promising youngsters like Ethan Johnson & Ian Williams, the front four has been a collectively lackluster unit throughout Oliver's tenure. I think the biggest culprit might be what's not there as opposed to what is - it's not a huge secret to say that the Irish wish they'd landed a player like Gerald McCoy or been able to convince Justin Trattou and Omar Hunter not to defect to Florida. And unlike other coaches, it hasn't been for a lack of effort that the Irish haven't gotten the top-level defensive line talent they seem to be getting at positions like wide receiver and defensive back.

As of Friday 1/9, no word on who might be stepping in to replace Haywood and Oliver, or if their departures mark the end of offseason staff changes. With the annual coaches' convention coming up (this time last year was when Weis was able to convince Jon Tenuta to come on board), I suspect that within the next week some new names and faces could be on the Irish coaching roster.

On a player personnel front, cornerback Darrin Walls will return to campus on Monday after having withdrawn for the fall semester. Similar to the situation with Pat Kuntz last spring, this is welcome news not only for Darrin as a person, but for the Irish football team to have another seasoned veteran with something to prove in his final campaign (Walls would have a fifth year option, but that's getting ahead of ourselves). With Walls re-joining Raeshon McNeil, Robert Blanton, sophomore Jamoris Slaughter (redshirted this season) and hopefully Gary Gray as well, the competition at cornerback should be intense throughout spring ball. It also (hopefully) paves the way for Notre Dame to have some of the more menacing nickel and dime packages in college football. You may recall back in the dog days of summer the rumors that Walls' withdrawal would eventually lead to a transfer, perhaps to hometown team Pittsburgh. Never a chance, according to the senior-to-be:

Walls Jr. was well aware of the rumblings as well, but he remains consistent in that the thought of leaving never arose.

“It never crossed my mind to go anywhere else,” he said. “My mom was a Pitt fan and wanted me there at the beginning, but there was never a thought of transferring.”

He then echoed the same sentiment that his father expressed during the summer interview.

“I want to get a degree from Notre Dame,” he added.

Meanwhile, tight end Will Yeatman has settled on a desitination - the University of Maryland. He will play lacrosse and football for the Terps but will be required to sit out the '09 football season. He still has three years of eligibility in lacrosse, which starts at the end of this month. The Terps are ranked #3 in the preseason polls (the Irish are #9) and now boast two 6'5" attackers with Yeatman on board. Again, best of luck to Will as he looks for a fresh start.

A Picture Says 1,000 Words

2009-01-05T23:48:00.001-08:00

...or, perhaps in this case, just two.

In Which I Remember the Password to the Email Account

2009-01-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

A quick note to start the New Year here, as Thomas & Falcron pool their talents for a report on Thursday's Winter Classic hockey game and we prep a few obligatory offseason recruiting/coaching change posts in the wake of an ND bowl victory (still sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? Get over it).

As anybody who visits the site might notice, in addition to our individual handles we also have the handy link on the side here - "Email Us" - which feeds to the generic 'Section29' GMail account. The problem of course is that for the last five months we have not been able to log in and read that account because somebody...okay, fine it was me...forgot the password. No more. After cleverly defeating the security barricades of Google, we have reopened this line of communication, and nobody was more shocked than we were to discover that people had actually written in! A few were requests to be added as links to our blogroll, which have been honored, while my personal favorite came from fellow internet journalist OC Domer the day after the Michigan game (when the blog was still going through a Blogger-server induced dark period):

Fellas -

You have NINE contributors and nobody had anything to say about the Michigan game - before or after?

Is it possible all nine of you are in serious relationships with supermodels at the same time?

You have no idea, OC. No idea. Anyway, our email link is once again open so feel free to contact the board at "section29row48@gmail.com"

Wait a Minute...They Won? Really?

2008-12-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

Video evidence for those who still believe that a Notre Dame bowl victory is something akin to a unicorn prancing across the Elysian Fields while a leprechaun and centaur dance the paso doble behind it - something you've heard about but never actually expect to see. Extended ESPN highlights available here.

One of the side effects to playing a game on Christmas Eve is that you get saddled with probably the D-minus list of announcing teams, and usually those guys aren't up on their Urban Dictionary. Explains how Dave Pasch managed to drop this line on the unsuspecting audience. Surely, it was an accident.

Merry Christmas to All

2008-12-25T10:08:00.000-08:00

And to all a good night. Final: Notre Dame 49, Hawai'i 21.

History of the Bowls, Part I

2008-12-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: In keeping with the Mel Brooks-ian tradition, there will be no Part II.

The Irish continue to soak up the sun in Honolulu as they prepare for Wednesday night's game, and there are two big stories dominating the headlines out on the Pacific Island. One is the rumor taking hold in the Hawai'i camp that some Irish player joked that everybody on the island "lives in huts", which they've taken as the rallying cry for their team. Second, there's the nasty side issue of Notre Dame's NCAA record 9 consecutive bowl losses.

How did this happen? Thru their first 18 postseason games (17 of them played after 1970, when the University finally lifted its bowl ban) the Irish were a respectable 12-6, and practically all of those games were on the big stage against big-time opponents. Even the middling bowl bids of the Faust years were still against Heisman winner Doug Flutie in the Liberty Bowl and against #8 SMU in the Aloha Bowl. In the 9 games since their last bowl victory (24-21 over pesky Texas A&M on January 1, 1994) the Irish have stayed on the big stage for the most part but seemed more like the court jester matched up with the leading actors. A quick blow-by-blow of where it's all gone wrong over the past 15 years:

January 2, 1995 - Fiesta Bowl vs. Colorado

The entire 1994 season was awash in controversy and heartache, almost as if the effects of the soul-crushing loss to end the '93 regular season were still blanketing the campus. At 6-4-1, Notre Dame was hardly deserving of a plum bowl bid on New Year's Day, but Lou Holtz's team accepted the challenge against their old bowl nemesis, fourth-ranked Colorado. Featuring Heisman winner Rashaan Salaam (saying it now makes it sound like a practical joke, doesn't it?) and future Pittsburgh Steelers malcontent Kordell Stewart, current Notre Dame QB coach Ron Powlus and his team promptly got overwhelmed, falling behind 31-3 in the first half before losing 41-24. Holtz began to open himself up to charges of "going to the well once too often" with a decision to wear green jerseys, perhaps hoping for a repeat of the '92 Sugar Bowl when road versions of the alternate uni were worn for an upset of #3 Florida.

January 1, 1996 - Orange Bowl vs. Florida State

The last truly admirable Notre Dame bowl performance, even in defeat. Holtz and the Irish came in on a six-game winning streak and, with Tom Krug subbing for an injured Powlus, looked to have the game in hand early in the fourth quarter after forcing Danny Kanell out of the endzone for a safety and taking the ensuing free kick in for a touchdown and a 26-14 lead. But Kanell threw a pair of scores in the final minutes and Krug was forced into a safety of his own for a 31-26 Florida State victory. It turned out to be Holtz's final bowl game, as a loss to USC the following year left the 8-3 Irish electing to skip a lesser bowl as the regime changed hands to Bob Davie.

December 28, 1997 - Independence Bowl vs. LSU

The first (and so far only) time that Notre Dame has been involved in a bowl rematch, having defeated the Tigers just six weeks earlier in Death Valley by a score of 24-6. On this cold and uninspiring evening in Shreveport, LA, the Irish capped the first year of the Bob Davie era with a sloppy performance that still, somehow, saw them leading 6-3 at halftime. But wasted red zone chances came back to haunt them and Tigers running back Rondell Mealey ran wild in the second half, finishing with 220 yards in a 27-9 LSU win.

January 1, 1999 - Gator Bowl vs. Georgia Tech

Apparently not a student of history, Davie broke out the green jerseys at the request of his seniors, but the uniform color didn't matter when it came to defending speedy receiver Dez White. Jarious Jackson (whose absence with a knee injury was the prime factor in a 10-0 loss to USC that cost ND a shot at a major bowl bid) made a game effort alongside Autry Denson (130 yards and three touchdowns in his final game), but the Irish couldn't keep up in a shootout as the streak reached four with a 35-28 loss.

January 1, 2001 - Fiesta vs. Oregon State

In many ways the most humiliating of all. It's one thing to get outclassed by Ohio State and LSU as the Irish would in recent years, but to see ND so thoroughly depantsed by a school that had only recently broken a string of 28 losing seasons made you wonder just what Bob Davie had been working on during the month between games. Of course, Oregon State had a couple of future NFL studs in TJ Houshmanzadeh and Chad Johnson, but that doesn't make it any less embarrassing. The 41-9 blowout was also, amazingly, not the most lopsided loss ND ever suffered in a bowl game; that "honor" remains with the 1972 squad which lost the '73 Orange Bowl to Nebraska by a score of 40-6.

January 1, 2003 - Gator vs. North Carolina State

Matched up against Philip Rivers and long-time Bobby Bowden lieutenant Chuck Amato, first-year coach Tyrone Willingham was looking to atone for the 44-13 shellacking given out by USC in the season finale. It didn't happen as a punchless Notre Dame offense sank in the 13th game of the year, falling 28-6 and losing all hope after Carlyle Holiday was knocked from the game with a re-injured shoulder. A barrage of Wolfpack trick plays in the second quarter put the game safely out of reach from Pat Dillingham and an offensive unit that went 4-for-19 on third down conversions. Most telling stat: early in the 3rd quarter, NC State wideout Bryan Peterson had more passing yards (27, on two flea-flicker plays) than either Irish quarterback.

December 28, 2004 - Insight Bowl vs. Oregon State

Nothing good happens when the Irish and the Beavers have a postseason date in Arizona. This game was basically over before it started, with the Irish accepting a bid and then about 36 hours later firing Willingham, sparking off a long and dubious chain of reactions over "institutional racism" and other hogwash. The game itself was the definition of anti-climactic, as the Irish under interim coach Kent Baer did everything but win one for Ty. It was 21-o early in the second quarter and Oregon State cruised to the finish with a 38-21 final score.

January 2, 2006 - Fiesta vs. Ohio State

Things were looking up in early in Charlie Weis' bowl debut as the Irish took the opening kickoff and promptly marched straight down OSU's vaunted defense for a 7-0 lead. Then the Buckeye offense took the field and shredded Notre Dame for 617 yards, gaining huge chunks on long pass plays to Ted Ginn and Santonio Holmes as well as a long reverse to Ginn. For all the Buckeye firepower, Notre Dame was somehow still in the game heading to 4th quarter, down 24-13. They would cut it to 27-20 with 5:27 to play but couldn't hold up, allowing Troy Smith to pick up two huge third downs before a 60-yard touchdown run by Antonio Pittman iced the game. People still haven't forgotten about Laura Quinn's hideous half-and-half jersey, which I guess was meant to "honor" brother Brady and then-boyfriend, now-husband AJ Hawk.

January 3, 2007 - Sugar Bowl vs. LSU

The Irish never shook the funk of the Fiesta Bowl completely, grab-bagging their way to a 10-2 record in 2006 that lost a lot of luster when you factor in their two losses were by a combined 46 points to Michigan and USC. The bowl game didn't provide redemption either, even as the Irish hung tough in the first half once more. The turning point came after a Quinn-to-Jeff Samardzija touchdown knotted the score at 14 with just over two minutes to play in the second quarter. LSU's JaMarcus Russell found that to be plenty of time to march straight back upfield for the go-ahead score, and the Irish never threatened again as the Tigers tacked on a pair of touchdowns in the second half to win going away, 41-14.

So now comes the Hawai'i Bowl. To wrap up, a final bit of bowl history: This will be the 11th different bowl game the Irish have played in (1 Rose, 1 Insight, 1 Independence, 1 Liberty, 1 Aloha, 3 Gator, 3 Fiesta, 4 Sugar, 5 Orange, & 7 Cotton), and they are 5-5 in their first appearances, having lost their last two bowl debuts (Independence and Insight).

How Did We Get Here?

2008-12-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame arrived in Hawai'i late Friday night after assorted weather delays turned a 9-hour flight into a 13-hour, two-stop journey. As always there was controversy surrounding the Irish's postseason destination, but not of the normal variety. Used to be fans would sit around and furiously debate how the Irish had beaten "the system" to gain a plum bowl bid over other deserving teams. Now things have gotten so bad that folks have taken to complaining about, literally, how the Irish got to their bowl site:

The Irish departed Friday night for Honolulu where they will play Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.
And Notre Dame was traveling in style.

A Boeing 747-400, the largest and heaviest commercial aircraft to ever utilize the South Bend Regional Airport, did the honors, carrying more than 275 people.

The plane is bigger and heavier than Air Force One, which is a 747-200. Air Force One has landed at SBN Regional many times when bringing the President to town, but has never come close to the weight of the aircraft transporting the Irish, according to the St. Joseph County Airport Authority.

The NDNation intelligentsia weighs in here. Discuss amongst yourselves.

In Search of a Fresh Start

2008-12-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

Will Yeatman has formally requested to be released from his athletic scholarship to pursue his football/lacrosse career at another university, beginning this spring:

It had been a tumultuous year for Yeatman, who was suspended after alcohol-related arrests led to suspensions that took away his 2008 lacrosse season and half of his 2008 football season.

The source said Yeatman, 20, has not decided where he will transfer, but it is expected he will go where he can play lacrosse and football.

At first it appeared that Yeatman would opt for his second choice coming out of high school, which was North Carolina, a long-time lacrosse power with 4 NCAA championships that now happens to be led on the football field by Butch Davis. UNC beat Notre Dame 29-24 on October 11th (Yeatman did not play in the game as Charlie Weis held him out of action pending a ResLife ruling, which came down the following Tuesday suspending Will for the season stemming from a Sept. 21st SB Excise Police "raid" that had all the legitimacy of a Keystone Kops reunion special).

The lunacy of the circumstances considering Yeatman's second arrest were beyond laughable. A report full of the "lurid, SHOCKING" details surfaced over at NDNation, and while we should always exercise restraint when trusting anonymous internet postings, the operators of the board do a very good job of vetting such information before allowing it to be posted on their site. "Highlights" of the SB police's behavior that night included:

Apparently an Indiana SUDS task force, in conjunction with the South Bend police department, were enroute from one of their pre-determined “target” drinking establishments to another “target”, when one of the members “observed what appeared to be several underage people drinking” inside the house. Based solely on that observation, the task force apparently made a decision to conduct what was a full fledged “raid” on the house in which the gathering was taking place. After surrounding the house with at least 12 police cars and, without a warrant, permission of any other form or justification, members of the police and task force proceeded to violently burst into the residence. Statements taken from the students who leased the premises have made it clear that none of them granted permission for the police to enter their residence.

The assault by the police on the premises was significant and excessive. Several students witnessed the raid from outside the residence. One gave the following account of the police assault on the premises: “At least 12 police cars with dogs swarmed the house. It was like a SWAT raid you might see in a drug movie. I could not believe what I was witnessing!”

Yeatman was charged with underage drinking, false informing, and resisting arrest - none of which stuck as the stupidity of those who claimed to be responsibly upholding the law became obvious. In the end the closest thing to condemnation was a press release announcing 37 arrests that, much to the chagrin of Irish head coach Charlie Weis, took the time to single out just one person: Yeatman.

Yeatman was hardly the only athlete involved, nor was he the only football player (reserve center Mike Golic, Jr. was also charged). But he was the only one on a short leash due to a January incident for "operating while intoxicated" after being caught by campus police going for a late-night drive on campus sidewalks - in what was later revealed to be a golf cart.

By the letter of the law, yes this second violation merited a punishment. But viewing it in the real world, where one would hope there'd be a consideration for the fact that his BAC was .02, he was disturbing no one and committing no egregious or felonious acts, you'd think Notre Dame's office of Student Affairs would embrace the concept of allowing the punishment to fit the crime. A suspension for a second offense was likely warranted - but for the entire rest of the season? Give me a break. The problem here is that, once again, ResLife chose to look at this as a problem of image and not of people. The concern was not actually helping Yeatman learn from this experience and allow him to once again be a part of the Notre Dame community. Their only concern was upholding that carefully crafted, totally bogus image Bill Kirk and Mark Poorman insist on maintaining that every single person who sets foot on campus is beyond reproach, and those who aren't are dealt with swiftly and painfully. Will Yeatman didn't give up on Notre Dame - Notre Dame gave up on Will Yeatman. It's neither surprising nor wrong that he would want a second chance somewhere where the Inquisition Panel at the Main Building won't be creeping over his shoulder for the next year and a half.

As for where the junior from San Diego, CA heads now, that decision appears to be very much in the hands of Notre Dame lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan:

[On] Dec. 5 Yeatman had a heart-to-heart talk with Irish head football coach Charlie Weis, asking for his release from his football scholarship to try to start over somewhere else. Weis, according to Yeatman, was extremely compassionate and supportive. And when Yeatman mentioned his No. 1 hopeful target was North Carolina — the school Weis and Yeatman's father, Dennis, talked him out of going to three years ago — Weis wished him well.

With football (as well as men's basketball, hockey and baseball), there is an automatic one-year residency requirement for transfers before they can play at their new school. In all other men's sports, including lacrosse, the new school can request a one-time transfer exemption.

When asked Tuesday if he planned to block the one-time transfer exemption for Yeatman, ND lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan responded, "This isn't over, and until it is, I have no comment."

Corrigan's probable take on the matter is also completely logical: he'd prefer not to release his best player to a team that will take the field against the Irish this upcoming season. Yeatman was a complementary player for the Irish as a football tight end, without the speed of others on the depth chart and not blessed with exceptional hands - but he was a rock-solid blocker who earned playing time as a freshman and was the top returning player at the position this season due to Mike Ragone's knee injury. While Kyle Rudolph is unquestionably on track to be a much better receiving tight end, Yeatman's loss was an issue in the second half of the season and will probably still be one next year. It's a problem for the football team, but one that can be overcome. For the lacrosse team, however, it could be a devestating blow; to not only not have the player who was National Freshman of the Year in 2007 and an Honorable Mention All-American, but to have to see him line up in an opposing uniform as soon as March 8th (when the Irish host North Carolina).

Wherever Yeatman lands, I can't blame him for deciding that's he simply exhausted with his efforts to cater to certain people's agenda and would just rather have a clean slate. Good luck Will.

Justin Tuck and Tecmo Bowl

2008-12-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

It's stories like this one that remind me what values Notre Dame instills in its students, whether they be athletes or not.

For those who have had the great privilege of playing Tecmo Bowl with me recently you undoubtedly understand my affinity for a certain Ronnie Lott of San Francisco (who aren't the 49ers mind you but have some sort of mechanical hawk as a mascot). Well Lott had high praise for young Justin for his work in the community and his level head:

“Even though you’re a Domer, there is something mystical” when people like Tuck “understand where he is at in his life and how he can help other people.”

Here's hoping Tuck continues his good work both on and off the field.

The Awards Show

2008-12-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

The main event has come and gone. The hardware was passed around at Disney World, and then Sam Bradford strode to the podium last night to collect another Oklahoma Heisman. Meanwhile, all is quiet in South Bend as the Irish go dark for the next four days to concentrate on exams (they'll resume practice on Thursday, for those players with no Friday tests, then practice 20-23 in Hawaii before the bowl game).

So we figured it was time to dish out the second annual edition of our own personal awards here at Section 29. Unfortunately there were a few members of the board who decided they were too cool for voting this year, but we saw overall good turnout. The voters:

Thomas McCall/"Broadway" Joe Long (submitting a joint ballot)
Paul Jacobs
Michael Devitt (Mike D)
George Heidkamp

And now, the envelopes please...

TEAM MVP

TM/B: Michael Floyd/Golden Tate. 7 TDs each on the season. These two have potential.
PJ: My vote is Bruton... let's face it, the offense stunk the second half of the year. Outside of the USC game it was our defense that fought their hearts out and kept us in games. Bruton anchored the most solid secondary I've seen in years.
MD: Floyd. When he left, the offense disappeared with him. I was tempted to give Bruton the nod, but I think the drop-off with Floyd's injury showed his value to this team.
GH: Several members of the defense have a case, specifically Brian Smith and the aforementioned Bruton. But I have to join in singing the praises of Mike Floyd, because we saw the debilitating effect of his absence during the final two games.

Winner: Michael Floyd, WR. Who, as you might possibly be aware, went to Cretin-Derham Hall in Minnesota. To say that a star was born is a bit of an understatement - Floyd set freshman records with 46 catches, 702 yards, 7 TDs, and did so while missing three full games (he was injured on about the 3rd play from scrimmage vs. Navy).

The Julius Jones Award - Breakout Offensive Player

TM/B: Sir Floyd. After the Stanford game, the AP reported that Mary was allegedly seen shifting slightly to the left atop the dome to prepare room for Floyd after the 2010 NFL draft (sorry, Chuck Lennon, he's leaving early).
PJ: Agree with Tmac and Joe, Floyd was an instant success.
MD: Floyd again for the reasons above. Even Golden "Is Thy" Tate was a different player without Floyd on the other side of the field.
GH: I was tempted to say Kyle Rudolph just for the sake of being an iconoclast, but Floyd was without question the real deal.

Winner: Floyd, marking the second consecutive year this award has gone to a wide receiver. Here's hoping Floyd avoids the sophomore slump which plagued Duval Kamara.

The Wes O'Neill Award - Breakout Defensive Player

TM/B: Pat Kuntz. His head was more diverse than an Obama affirmative action program. Who else deserves this award? Crum a close 2nd. Actually...we are going to save this for next year and give out two.
PJ: Brian Smith. He's a player I look forward to watching that will hopefully step into the leadership role that Mo Crum is vacating.
MD: Pat Kuntz. I don't know if he really "broke out" this year, but the man deserves an award. He is a crazy, but I love him.
GH: Brian Smith. A year ago he was an entirely raw engine, motoring around with occasional success. This season he became a true playmaker.

Winner: Kuntz/Smith. Kuntz came back with a vengeance after missing spring ball due to being absent from the University, leading the team in sacks. Smith and his sharer of the surname, Harrison, paced the Irish linebackers and actually gave rise to hope for the 3-4 defense under the Dome.

The Sean Calloway Award

Given to that individual who produces maximum results despite limited vertical and physical attributes, proving most definitely that great things can come in small packages.

TM/B: Mike Anello. He's basically Ken Girouard, domer to the end of all, not wearing all black, without a cool phone/PDA, and slightly more athletic. Noboby loves ND more than Anello.
PJ: I feel as though I would be slandering my own good name as a little guy if I didn't vote for Anello. I hope he gets to hang out at the Maui Sheraton and have mai tais delivered to him as his leg heals. This guy really does give 200%
MD: Mike Anello. Let's start the chant now, "One more year, one more year!"
GH: Golden Tate made a serious challenge, but teams keyed on him and limited his production down the stretch. Yet no matter how hard the opposition tried, they could not keep Anello from making plays.

Winner: Mike Anello, who should truly feel insulted at this point with all the Rudy comparisons.

The Russell Carter Award

Last year we introduced the Chris Thomas Award, commemorating that individual who, while a standout player, never quite seemed to live up to the hype surrounding his career. This year, we honor the memory of Russell Carter, who never quite had any hype but finally did start to produce in a starring role during his senior season as Notre Dame's basketball captain. So we focus on the fact that these players showed up at all, rather than complain about them showing up late.

TM/B: Brandon Walker, K. If the season were a college party, he showed up late, but still got the job done late in the game on the beer pong table. And as an added bonus - he was 32/32 on extra points for the season.
PJ: Terrail Lambert. Considering he's the Gerry McNamara of college football and I've screamed his name in disgust for so long in the past... he finally turned the tables and contributed to the team. He just happened to be ranked the 36th-best cornerback in the nation by Phil Steele for `08.
MD: Kyle McCarthy. He led the team in tackles (sadly). The defense played well more often than not this year, but when are we going to have a linebacker lead the team in tackles!?!
GH: Kyle McCarthy. Whine if you must about a defensive back as the team's surest tackler, but considering where Kyle's come from (a last-minute addition to the so-called "worst class in Notre Dame history") the contributions he made were quite significant. If Tom Zbikowski were as solid an open-field tackler as the football team's KMac, who knows what might have been.

Winner: Kyle McCarthy, S. He'll join with Harrison Smith next year to produce a solid and, more incredibly, all-white safety tandem.

The George Carlin "Of Course it Was Pre-Recorded, When Else Are You Gonna Record It, Afterwards?!?" Award

If you've not been privy to George Carlin's riff on airline announcements (likely one of the top 5 comedy routines of all time), do not pass go, do not collect $200 - go straight here. Then you'll know who's eligible for this award.

TM/B: Chris Marinelli, OL, Stanford.
PJ: This award has to be split... First is the Indiana State Excise Police for being raging ego-centric power hungry buffoons and sadly the second person is Will Yeatman. I realize he got a raw deal but I literally shouted 'WTF!' at the top of my longs when I heard he got in trouble for drinking a second time. I feel like a total hypocrite saying he shouldn't drink as a minor considering we all did, but if I had been busted it would have only affected me...not my whole (hypothetical) football team.
MD: I'm going to go with Tom Hammond and Pat Haden. I know they aren't players/coaches, but I am dumbfounded by most of what they say.
GH: Had I been stupid enough to watch the game with the sound on, I probably would've given the award to Bob Davie for what I'm sure was dynamite commentary on the ND-Washington game. But I've got to give the award to Steve Brown, who carried on the legacy of Kordell Stewart's "The Best Team Doesn't Always Win" BS after the ND-Michigan game.

Winner: You know, each and every one of these guys (save Will Yeatman, who did in fact get a real raw deal and may not return to the University at all) is worthless in their own special way. They can all share the award.

The Get Smart Award

Commemorating that moment of the 2008 football season where the difference between brilliance and catastrophe was "THAT much".

TM/B: The entire Syracuse football team...and any students who threw snowballs at the ND sideline that ominous day.
PJ: Floyd's fumble on the 7-yard line against the Tar Heels. To think what would have happened if we had scored on the next play to win the game. How would it have changed the season?
MD: The start of the second half of the UNC game. Something changed with that interception. A little better throw and things might have been a lot different, but probably not.
GH: The closing 2 minutes and overtime of the Pittsburgh game. ND finds a way to win that one and they possibly go 3-1 in November to close 8-4, play in a January 1st bowl and at least have a chance at a big springboard to next season. Or not. Could've gone either way.

Winner: Seems to be a split among fans as to whether it was UNC or the Pitt game where things headed south, but by popular vote the UNC game takes the honor.

The MoStovall Senior Year of Vengeance Award

Given to the returning junior/senior with the most to prove in 2008 following a lackluster career thus far.

TM/B: Jimmy Clausen. At this point in his career, the "Lebron James of High School Football" has a better chance to enter Moreau Seminary than enter the National Football League. It's time for him to step up...and make plays. And we believe he will do this next year.
PJ: I agree with Tmac and Joe, it has to be Jimmy. I'm really curious how he'll play knowing [Dayne] Crist is right behind him nipping at his heels.
MD: Any and all returning offensive lineman. They need to get it together, but I'm not sure I can put it all on them. Someone is supposed to be coaching them, right?
GH: Sam Young. Three years, 36 starts, and yet I still can't make heads nor tails of him. There are 12 games left in his college career. Can he finally play like a five-star?

Winner: Jimmy Clausen, QB. A junior by designation next year, he'll still be 22 and looked at as the unquestioned leader. Next year's the true make-or-break for him, so I can't dispute the choice even if I voted for Young.

Play of the Year

TM/B: Nothing from this year stood out, so how about this?
PJ: I vote for the entire Michigan game. In the wake of this mediocre year, it's nice to see Michigan where we were last year. Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of guys.
MD: The first five minutes of the Michigan game.
GH: Sequence after the first TD vs. Michigan - Anello out-hearts everybody for a fumble recovery, followed by a fade TD to Kamara, and then later in the quarter a bomb to Tate. 21-0 before Rich Rod had his first sip of Gatorade.

Winner:

The Obama
Who's bringin' next year's "Change We Can Believe In!!!"?

TM/B: Charles Weis. Because if he doesn't, the nation's unemployment numbers will increase.
PJ: Whoever is our next offensive line coach. I suggest Hugh Nall of Auburn. Considering the coaching changes going on there, Weis might be able to scoop him up if the offer is right.
MD: I was hoping to give this one to Swarbrick. Let's hope he's not learning on the job too. I'll go with Charlie Weis' offseason staff changes. Hopefully they happen and hopefully they'll make me believe.
GH: I'm gonna stay between the hash marks and vote for Notre Dame's running backs. I know we all wanna pile on John Latina (and the performance of his charges certainly merits that) but at some point the running backs need to take charge and impose a little will. That's what made Darius Walker a different player - he routinely made plays when it looked like there was no play to be made. So to Aldridge, Allen, Hughes, Gray, & now Cierre Wood, I put the fate of the regime in your hands.

Winner:

It's all on you, Charlie.

Basket-blog

2008-12-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

With one game to go in the Irish football season (mercifully), we begin to find other things to think and ruminate on here at Section 29. There must be another high-profile athletic team to fill the void once the 6-6 Irish fade from view for a bit (until the next coaching change, which will beget the next recruiting news, which begets Signing Day, and so on and so forth). That's where the #12/#13 Men's Basketball team comes in.

The Irish suffered their first true letdown of the season on Saturday, falling victim to Ohio State's suffocating 2-2-1 press defense that silenced Kyle McAlarney even as Luke Harangody was making it perfectly clear he was over his recent bout with pnuemonia. The Irish sit 6-2 with highly winnable games against Boston (University, not College), Savannah State, and Delaware State before beginning the Big East slate at DePaul (@ 8 PM on New Year's Eve, no less! You wanna talk about an athletic contest that's f&*kin' with everybody's plans!) But along the way this season the Irish hoops squad will have at least one other loyal blogger aside from us; at least, he better be seeing as how he's on the team. Zach Hillesland, the senior forward from Toledo, OH, will be a contributing member of The Quad, the New York Times' college sports blog. Check here for all of Zach's posts so far and in the future (look for a new one about once a week). His opening riff where he explains how every member of the team got his nickname is quite humorous. My favorite:

No. 1 Ty Nash

Nicknames: Moe, Smash, T-Nash

Origins: Tyrone claims that one should use Moe when you don’t really know someone’s name. Apparently Tyrone has a problem with remembering names because he calls everyone Moe. He used it so much, we now call him Moe. Smash was given to Tyrone by our strength coach, Tony “T. Ro” Rolinski, a.k.a. the Dog-Faced Gremlin, a.k.a. Ari Gold (the strength coach version), a.k.a. the Sexiest Man Alive Under 6 Feet. That last one was self appointed.

Mele Kalikimaka

2008-12-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

Apparently jealous of the basketball team's recent success on the Islands, Notre Dame officially accepted the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl's invitation to play the hometown University of Hawai'i Warriors on December 24th. It will be:

The first time Notre Dame has played in the Hawai'i Bowl but the second bowl appearance in Honolulu (the Irish played in the 1984 Aloha Bowl, Gerry Faust's second and final postseason berth, a 27-20 loss to SMU).
The third time Notre Dame has played Hawai'i. The previous games were both end-of-season Thanksgiving week trips in 1991 & '97, both nailbiters won by the Irish (48-42 in '91, 23-22 in '97).
The first time Notre Dame has ever played a game on Christmas Eve (though they did play a very memorable, albeit fictional, contest during the 1988 holiday season while John McClane was battling Hans Gruber).

Having just returned from there, I think we members of Section 29 can vouch for the fact that there are worse ways to spend the holiday season than being "stuck" in Hawaii. The relative merits of taking on this game - indeed, any bowl game at all - are sure to become a hot-button topic for Notre Dame watchers during the next 17 days. The quick read from my end, all bulls&*t aside: it would be nice to finally be rid of the albatross known as "the streak" when it comes to bowl games. Hopefully the players seize the opportunity.

Updated - Notre Dame's official press release:

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- For just the second time in school history, Notre Dame will be playing a bowl game in Hawai’i.

The Fighting Irish (6-6) will face Hawai’i (7-6) in the seventh annual Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl on Dec. 24, the NCAA announced Sunday evening.

“We’re very excited about heading out west to play in the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl,” head coach Charlie Weis said. “This is a great opportunity for our team to face a quality opponent in their backyard and we’ll need to be ready.

“I know the extra practices this month will really benefit our team and we look forward to ending this season on a good note.”

This will be the fourth trip to Hawai’i in the football program’s history. The Irish lost to SMU in the 1984 Aloha Bowl, 27-20, and played at Hawai’i in the regular season finales in 1991 and 1997. Notre Dame won both previous meetings with the Warriors, 48-42 in 1991 and 23-22 in 1997.

Site of the game is 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai’i. ESPN will nationally televise the game at 8:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. HST in Honolulu).

Notre Dame will be making its 29th bowl appearance overall and its fourth in the past five seasons. The Irish played in the 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl, the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the 2004 Insight Bowl. Notre Dame is 13-15 in postseason play.

Brian, any chance you've got some Starwood points left over and feel like spending Christmas in Hawaii too? C'mon, this thing is sponsored by Sheraton!

Banquet Banter

2008-12-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame held its 88th football banquet last night, and once again the specter of something lost was hanging over the crowd. At least, from a fan's perspective that is. Joe Theismann, who has been repeatedly tagged as a "Weis apologist" (and even Charlie's "attack dog") was in no mood to pat everybody on the back as the event's featured speaker. The quarterback formerly known as theez-man addressed the present and future when meeting with reporters before the banquet:

"I'm not naive enough to stick my head in the sand and say, 'Well, we're OK.' " he said. "We're not OK. But we can be, and that's what I see.

"I look at this football team, and I think we have some incredible athletes at the skill positions, on the offensive side in particular. It's just something that needs to grow and grow more. How do I evaluate Charlie? I know he has to do a better job. And he'll sit here and tell you he has to do a better job."

A short time later, Weis appeared in front of the press for the first time since the USC postgame and repeated the theme:

“I don’t think you can be just a mediocre team at Notre Dame. I’m not saying you’re playing for the national championship game every year. But you have to be in the discussion,” Weis said before the team’s football banquet. “If you’re not in the discussion, I don’t think that’s what anyone who went to Notre Dame or roots for Notre Dame would ever be looking for.”

There's no point in beating around the bush: a sizeable portion of the fanbase has given up on Charlie Weis. I can't blame them. But he is going to be the football coach next year, and I think Charlie is smart enough to realize that no amount of verbal mea culpas will pacify the restless natives - winning more games will, and nothing else. He knows what he has to do, but the fact that he doesn't go on some long winded tirade about why 6-6 is unacceptable just seems to piss off NDNation posters even more at this point. Never mind that it would accomplish absolutely nothing - a lot of Notre Dame fans just want some visual confirmation that Weis is as miserable as they are, because they choose to let what happens on a football field define their lives and define the University.

Now, before you all jump on top of me as being one of those "lace curtain pansie Monk-ite latte sippers", let me expand on my position for a moment. By no means should anybody, fan, player, coach, or administrator, kick back and be content that ND went from 3-9 to 6-6. For this Notre Dame team to finish 6-6 when they were quite clearly capable of far more (and blew three second half, double-digit leads against average, average, and god-awful teams respectively on their way to that mark) burns. It's not fun to be a fan, but it certainly can't be fun to be a coach or a player saddled with that burden. That's why if Notre Dame wants to get back to being Notre Dame, they'd do well to listen carefully to what Theismann said during his banquet speech:

"For those that take the mantle and move it forward, I ask you this question. What do you want? What do you want?" Theismann said. "I want you to remember this season, I want you to remember the pain. I want you to remember the hard work.

"Every one of you has to make your mind up that this will never happen again."

Even as 2009 begins to take shape with enough plotlines, dueling alliances, and shifting emotional threads to match a Telemundo soap, the Irish players saluted their own during Friday's banquet festivities. Taking home the hardware this year:

Maurice Crum, Jr. earned the Notre Dame Monogram Club Most Valuable Player Award, as voted by his teammates. Crum wasn't shouldering the load himself this season among the linebackers, as sophomores Brian and Harrison Smith stepped up in Notre Dame's 3-4 defense. The fifth-year player finished with 63 tackles (31 solo) to go with two sacks, ending his career as a two-time captain and the 9th player to record 300 tackles in a career. Assuming he starts the bowl game, Crum will finish second to Tom Zbikowski in career starts at Notre Dame with 47, and he already will finish 8th in career tackles, also having passed Tommy Z late this season. You probably could make a case that other players had a bigger impact at moments during the year - Golden Tate on offense, David Bruton on defense - but Crum's steady leadership on the field and off deserved to be recognized. Crum joined with '07 MVP Trevor Laws as a double winner at the banquet as he shared the Nick Pietrosante Award.

And who'd he share that with? Former walk-on and all-heart special teams ace Mike Anello, who hobbled on stage to accept the award (he's out 2-4 months after suffering a break in his leg against USC, but will apply for a fifth year). The Pietrosante Award goes to "the student-athlete who best exemplified the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and pride of the late Irish All-America fullback" (Pietrosante starred for the Irish in the late '50s and was a number one pick and All-Pro player for the Detroit Lions. He succumbed to cancer in 1988.) Anello also won the Rockne Student-Athlete Award, fitting for a finance major who sports a 3.93 GPA and was already named a second-team Academic All-American.

Elsewhere, Pat Kuntz took home the Moose Krause Lineman of the Year award for a second straight season after collecting a career-high 8 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Mike Turkovich won Guardian of the Year (top offensive lineman). There are probably a lot of cynics out there who will equate being the best offensive lineman at Notre Dame with winning a tallest midget contest, but the unit went from allowing 58 sacks a year ago to 20. Turkovich's good (even if unspectacular) play at left tackle played a big role in that. Also along the o-line, Chris Stewart was honored with the State Farm Student-Athlete of the Year award. The history major boasts a GPA of 3.53.

We'll check back with a few "special" awards of our own after weekend (see who made our honor roll last year), but with time to kill before the "excitement" builds toward the Texas Bowl, a look back at who was on and off the mark a year ago can't hurt.

On the mark: Paul predicting in December '07: "Golden Tate is not only going to finally become comfortable with the offense and running routes, I think Charlie is going to feel comfortable letting Jimmy lob the ball down field to him." Myself for calling out: "Harrison Smith, who will be hailed as The Second Coming of Zibby, given his status as a semi-fast white safety".

Off the mark: Mike D predicting DJ Hord would have a big, Mo Stovall-type senior year. Ditto Pat Girouard for tabbing Anthony Vernaglia.

Jack Swarbrick Weighs In

2008-12-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

Well, you knew what he was gonna say already. People are gonna take what they want out of this, either positively or negatively.

Advice from Johnny Drama

2008-12-02T22:06:00.000-08:00

The scene: Vincent "Jack" Chase is sitting in the Oak Room at South Dining Hall, awaiting breakfast from personal chef Johnny "Drama" Affleck-Graves. Also waiting for some eats are Vince's close friends and confidants: an overbearing NDNation poster who goes by the handle of "Turtle", and women's soccer coach Randy "E" Waldrum. Jack takes a sip of coffee.

Turtle: I've never been so f&*kin' embarrassed in my life. I've never seen worse coaching, worse uniform-wearing, worse equipment managing, worse band directing, worse team chaperoning.

E: Well, I only caught a few minutes of the highlights, but I thought the band was pretty good.

Turtle: OK, fine, is that what this f&*kin' program is reduced to? We might as well petition to join Grambling & Southern at the Battle of the Bands.

E: We'd lose.

Vince: So what do you guys think I should do?

E: Well, he really screwed up this time, there's no denying it.

Turtle: This program, this program that you love, I love, we all love...and he's f&*ked it up. Losing to the motherf&*kin' Naval Academy one year, and lame-duck Greg Robinson the next. I want to vomit all over myself.

E: Put a bullet in 'im. Be done with it.

Vince: You know there's no guarantees for you either, hot shot. Haven't seen you hoisting any trophies recently.

Awkward silence.

Turtle: F*&k that. Nobody cares about women's soccer - no offense, E.

E: None taken.

Turtle: Plus you got that nice new stadium coming in so just got sit over in the corner and figure out another way to lose to UC Santa Barbara.

Vince: Hey, uncalled for.

Turtle: Fine, but seriously - put this fat suit out of his misery. Leave the gun, take the cannolis.

More awkward silence. Vince looks over to the chef's table.

Vince: You're awfully quiet, Johnny.

Johnny: I think everybody should just relax, try my eggs florentine, and take a deep breath.

Vince: You think I should keep Charlie, even after all this?

Johnny: Eh, I'm not sure what you should do, bro. But I know you don't make a decision this big based on emotion. And you don't make it 'til you know what's next.

Vince: What do you mean?

Johnny: Well, nobody appreciates their girlfriend until they get herpes from the next broad. Understand what I'm saying?

Vince: No, you guys?

E/Turtle: No.

Johnny: I'm saying, you don't dump your football coach until you've flirted with some other young hotties first. See what other options are out there.

E: That's not a bad idea.

Vince: Eh, I'll meet other coaches after I fire Charlie.

Turtle: I like it, icy cold.

Johnny: I dunno Vin. You might be getting a little ahead of yourself. I mean, let's look carefully at the situation.

Turtle: 2-8, at home on Senior Day. No other situation needs considering.

Vince: He does have a point. E, what'd you do on Senior Day?

E: Beat Seton Hall 6-0. Although does it count if we played seven more home games after that?

Vince: Close enough. Get Charlie on the phone.

Johnny: Hold on 'bro. You sure you wanna go down this road so quickly? This is what happened to the last hot shot like yourself. Thought he had it made coming over from the West Side, saddled up nice and cozy with a cool cat from Palo Alto, then had the rugged pulled out from under 'im and went searching blind for a new main squeeze. Here, try the eggs florentine. Spinach is a great source of iron.

Vince: You really think we shouldn't fire Charlie?

Johnny: Not if all you got is another training wheel candidate who don't know how to please you, bro. Sure, that up-and-comer from the Nasty 'Natti might work out, might not. So could that blonde bombshell from Northwestern. But unless you got a grade-A one-of-a-kinder up your sleeve...it's a risk.

Turtle: So we just suffer through another miserable f&*kin' year of having the band be the most competent unit on the field?

Johnny: Maybe, maybe not. But don't be jumping off the ledge unless your absolutely certain there's a bed of roses waiting for you to land in.

E: Well yeah, but there are no guarantees. So why not just fire somebody who clearly deserves it at this point?

Johnny: Hey, you wanna go searching for another 50-50 proposition, fine by me. For the time being I think that patience may prove to be a virtue.

Turtle: F&*k that.

Everybody eats and stews in silence. End scene.

The (as of this posting) still unofficial news from Fortress Hesburgh concerning the postion of head football coach in 2009 no doubt stirs opinions. What precisely was "Vince" up to, and when was he up to it? Did he got out and flirt a bit before sticking with the hand he'd been dealt? Unlikely to get the firm answers to those questions. Plenty more opinions to follow on this in the days and weeks to come.

He'll be back.

2008-12-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

According to Irish Eyes and WNDU, Charlie Weis will be back next year to coach the Irish. A press conference is expected tomorrow to make it official.

How do I feel about it? I'll discuss in a couple days.

The Observer Weighs In

2008-12-01T21:40:00.001-08:00

This is The End

2008-11-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

Not a proud moment. There are no feelings. Only sadness.

Post Mortem: North Carolina 102, Notre Dame 87

2008-11-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

The Tar Heel faithful at the Lahaina Civic Center chanted "Just like football!" as the final seconds ticked away. Just like football? Not so fast, my friends.

When Notre Dame and UNC met on the gridiron in early October, the game was a tale of two halves - one where Notre Dame played like a confident, maturing team and one where they collapsed on top of themselves, unable to correct their own mistakes in time for the Heels to steal a 29-24 victory which (despite what we all wanted to believe at the time) has done the team far more harm than good. In football, Notre Dame was an equal, if not superior team, and self-destructed.

On the basketball court? Different story. The eighth-ranked Irish were clearly out-manned, out-gunned, and out-muscled. Their only hope was to figure out a way to out-shoot the absurdly talented North Carolina squad, and Kyle McAlarney certainly would be willing to take on any two Heels in a game of H-O-R-S-E. McAlarney's 10 3-pointers broke his own school record set against Syracuse last year, but there was only so much he could do in the final 7 minutes as the entire Carolina two-deep literally shot the lights out of the gym on the Valley Isle.

To the two big questions posed in our recap of the Texas game:

Would the Irish be able to match UNC's speed? Oh, how to put this delicately: no. Ty Lawson ran like he had a jet booster on his sneakers, but that's the type of player he is, putting up a career high in assists (11) to go with 22 points. During the first two games of the tournament we marveled at how rapid Tory Jackson was progressing as a point guard, but tonight he and the rest of the Irish had a front row seat for what the definition of "elite" guard play is. That's why there's no shame in a gutty performance that ended with a 15 point loss. Doesn't matter if it's the Final Four, Maui, or on the moon: UNC is simply too good and too deep to be overcome by anything other than an absolutely flawless performance out of their opponent (and a few key unforced errors on their own part). Neither happened, but there was no dishonor in the way Notre Dame performed. They just didn't stack up all the way like Carolina did.

Would Tyler Hansbrough play/would he be 100%? Yes to the first, but by his and Roy Williams' estimation, 'Psycho T' (or as I will call him from now on, "Ben Hansbrough's older brother") was only at 75% health. If 34 points on 13-of-19 was a three-quarters effort, I pity the folks in the ACC who will have to deal with him once he reaches full strength. Luke Harangody had a tough day at the office both defending and being defended by the Player of the Year, and a daylong bout with the flu certainly couldn't have helped matters. The way Hansbrough was shooting in the first half though, he'd probably have put up the same numbers against the NBA All-Stars.

The postscript on this 25th Maui Invitational should read as follows: Notre Dame found out what kind of team they are (pretty good, but a notch below truly elite) and got a great early litmus test on what kind of team they might yet become. Hearing afterwards how their best player played the championship game hours after being hooked to an IV, and seeing some great development and confidence from some of the key role players the Irish will need this season (Luke Zeller and Ryan Ayers top the list) leaves an Irish fan feeling that this upper echelon ranking might not be such a fluke. The Irish have already gone toe-to-toe with the nation's best. Now bring on the Big East.

Maui Invitational Championship

2008-11-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

Tip off! Go Irish! Beat #1 Tarheels!

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 81, Texas 80

2008-11-26T01:44:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what I'm more excited about: #8 Notre Dame's victory over #7 Texas today, or the fact that we found out where Bill Raftery will be after tomorrow's game.

So if you happen to be reading this Bill, here's hoping we meet up for a beer after tomorrow's championship game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. The Irish crashed the party in Hawai'i with clutch offense (though not necessarily clutch free-throw shooting) and defensive discipline that put a huge plus on their NCAA resume before a title shot versus consensus #1 North Carolina.

Going strictly by the stat sheet, this was a performance typical of Notre Dame last season: domination by Luke Harangody (29 points, 12 rebounds) while riding an early hot hand from long range (Kyle McAlarney hit on five of six three-pointers to start the game), then surviving a furious charge from the opponent at the end of the game. Having said all that, the Notre Dame team that took the floor tonight was far different from the one that seemed to be feeling it's way throughout the early stages of 2007. For reference, during last season's island tournament trip, the Irish let not one but two late leads slip away in going 1-2 during the Paradise Jam. This season, even with the blaze of glory AJ Abrams was in down the stretch and their own weakness at the free throw line, the Irish refused to cave (and refused to stop attacking the rim even as they built a lead in the closing minutes, another welcome change).

It would've been nice to be better from the free throw line and put the game on ice earlier (the Irish finished only 10-of-21, granting them an odd distinction of making more three pointers than free throws) but a win is still a win. More significantly, it was a win that quelled a lot of concerns about if this Irish squad could play against other squads bestowed with preseason hype. College basketball is an even bigger crapshoot than football as far as the rankings go, beyond one or two obvious choices (like tomorrow night's opponent, the Tar Heels). Most observers of Irish hoops would've told you this was nice, solid team, probably Top 20. But strong enough and athletic enough to merit being in the Top 10? That would've been a hard sell before seeing how they went toe-to-toe with Texas.

Now comes a new and far stiffer challenge, against a North Carolina team so beset by injuries that "they'll only have 8 NBA players on the team instead of 10" as Kentucky's Billy Gillespie put it. Can the Irish hope to match up with UNC's speed after a grueling semi-final while the Heels have been on cruise control since they landed in Maui, outscoring their opponents by better than 30 points per game? Will reigning national Player of the Year Tyler Hansborough be at 100%? All your questions will be answered tomorrow evening.

Maui Tip-off, Part 2

2008-11-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ben Crenshaw is in the house. Other than that, Go Irish! Beat Longhorns!

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 88, Indiana 50

2008-11-24T22:12:00.000-08:00

I don't know what was more surprising: the sudden assertiveness of Ryan Ayers and Luke Zeller, or that a University of Indiana basketball team could look as inept as they did today. Of course, perhaps this edition of the Hoosiers deserves a special dispensation considering the crater they have to crawl out of. As I left the Lahaina Civic Center, I was convinced that Tom Crean would have the IU ship pointed in the right direction before long - after all, in NCAA basketball, dramatic turnarounds can be gained with just one or two key players, and Indiana certainly has the draw to get that type of talent. Couple that with the fact that a supremely inexperienced team is already buying into Crean's hard-nosed style of play, and good things are on the horizon for IU. But enough about Notre Dame's opponent.

The storyline emerging from today's 88-50 beatdown of Indiana in the opening round of the Maui Invitational can be boiled to one simple fact: Tory Jackson is everything for this team that Chris Thomas never was. In terms of raw physical talent, Thomas was probably the superior player; however, Jackson has a keen understanding of his physical gifts (underrated, in our opinion) and liabilities, and always has his focus on how to mix those into a system that benefits the team. Perhaps Thomas was a stronger shooter with the ability to drop 35, but TJ's athleticism on defense and his ability to spread the ball does wonders for the overall team. More than anything, it's his leadership abilities on the floor that trump anything we've seen in Notre Dame basketball since the heady days of Matt Carroll - and probably going back even further to David Rivers. A year ago the sluggish beginning of today's game might have spelled a close contest, but Jackson simply refused to allow Indiana to hang around.

While the Saginaw, MI native's stellar play is probably the top headline for an Irish fan, not to be lost in the shuffle was the presence of the "other" Zeller. You know, the one who was Indiana's Mr. Basketball yet hasn't done more than be an occasional hot hand off the bench in three collegiate seasons. With his younger, far mor touted brother shelved for the year due to a broken wrist, Luke played out there like a guy determined to carry on the family name. We at Section 29 openly wondered who would step up to fill the statistical and physical void left by Rob Kurz after last season - and the play of both Zeller and sophomore Tyrone Nash today was the type of performance that proved the Irish have answers to the loss of a valuable senior leader. Zeller's statline today - 10 points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes - showed an ability to fill one of the key holes not only in the big picture, and was a great example of a veteran stepping up when given the opportunity, as two quick fouls on Zach Hillesland dictated a lot of early playing time for Zeller and Nash.

As noted above, Ryan Ayers deserves a Maui Mai Tai for his solid 5-of-7 performance - more than accuracy, what stood out was his aggressiveness towards the hoop and deft touch from long range. While his defenders were significantly overmatched, seeing Ayers with a green-light in his head is a welcomed sight. He was absolutely fearless in attacking the rim off missed shots and stepping into open looks while IU tried to key on Notre Dame's other threats. Additional kudos should be paid to Kyle McAlarney, who broke out of his early season shooting slump to knock down six three pointers.

Finally, and before looking ahead to Texas, it is safe to say that this will be the only ND hoops blog of the season which follows a 38 point Irish victory but does not mention Luke Harangody until the sixth paragraph. Nonetheless, Harangody was easily the most physical player on the floor today, his best contributions coming on the defensive end while scoring 14 points against unending double teams. Most people would tell you that Notre Dame won't be able to overcome games where their best player isn't among the team leaders in points or rebounds - yet Jackson led the way with 21 points (five Irishmen reached double figures), while Zeller pulled down 11 boards along with Jackson and Ayers getting five apiece. If ND can continue to develop an identity that forces teams to pay attention well beyond the reigning Big East Player of the Year, Irish fans will be smiling during other, far more significant tournaments late in the season.

As for the Longhorns, this is a great opportunity for the Irish in a "measuring stick" type of game, similar to the Alabama game two years ago. The key matchup is Tory Jackson vs. AJ Abrams. The UT floor general has been hot from long range (he was 4-of-7 from that distance against St. Joe's in the game preceding the Irish in Maui) and prides himself on relentless defense. Texas prefers a three guard lineup, with Damion James as the swingman into the front court along with center Dexter Pittman and forward Matt Hill. It'll be strength on strength tomorrow afternoon with the Irish's up-tempo offense against the superb athleticism of Texas' defense. ND scores 82 points per game, Texas allows only 46. The team that controls the tempo wins, and that'll be keyed by who wins the battle of Jackson and Abrams. Should be a lot of fun - we'll be there.

Time for Tip-Off!

2008-11-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

Dateline Maui. Go Irish! Beat Hoosiers!

When the Levee Breaks

2008-11-23T23:08:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing I've learned in the past two weeks, it's this: despite having a general appreciation for their place in rock history, I never fully understood how awesome a band Led Zeppelin was.

Apologies for the little non-sequitir. It's just that in light of the two most recent performances by the Notre Dame football team, I find myself grasping desperately at something positive to get through the day. And thanks to the introduction of Channel 39 on XM Satellite Radio (all Zeppelin, all the time) I find myself immersed in the hard-charging, never-dull sounds of a bygone era that puts all modern attempts at emulation to shame. I could also achieve this by listening to old tapes of Lindsey Nelson recapping Notre Dame football games, but as I said before I'm trying to keep my will to live.

It's not a big mystery at this point. One game could be treated as an anomaly; a couple games can be lumped together on either the positive side or negative side of anybody's ledger if you spin hard and long enough. Charlie Weis has coached Notre Dame for 48 games now, and to use his own words, "You are what your record says you are." Charlie Weis is 28-20 with almost certainly one, if not two, more losses to be tacked onto that ledger. It's the definition of mediocrity.

This is not something I write with a sense of pride. I know of no Notre Dame fan who actively hoped for Weis to fail, but of course in hindsight everybody is running to claim that they knew what one of the sages at Blue-Gray Sky knew in December of '04: that Weis, while a sharp coordinator and a "Notre Dame man", was an Outback Steakhouse in the land of Ruth's Chris. Better coaches existed then, and certainly better coaches exist now. Notre Dame once again learned the hard way about what happens when you make a huge investment in somebody who's only head coaching experience is at the high school level. Those who fail to learn history...something something.

At this particular juncture, I just pause to remember the words of Page and Plant: "When the levee breaks, Mama, you've got to go." And when you can't beat a 2-8 team with a lame duck coach on your home field, on Senior Day, with a New Year's Day bowl bid (however unmerited) still within your grasp, when you've got players admitting afterwards that somehow the 2-8 team wanted "it" more than them...that's the levee breaking.

Escape to Maui (Wowie)

2008-11-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

If you have come over for a profanity-laced tirade over the Syracuse tackle
football game, you will have to wait a day or so. Right now we're
waiting on our plane to escape to the islands for the Maui Invitational

Notre Dame: Because Basketball is Just Around the Corner.

Never Say Die?

2008-11-15T12:46:00.001-08:00

There will be a moment for cool, logical analysis later. Obviously you want to win, but it's never good when a "win" feels a lot more like a loss. And if there's any desire to improve, the coaches and players are gonna ride themselves like they did lose rather than feel content that they had just enough of a cushion to survive a mountain of incompetence in the final 2:30. I'm speechless.

There is probably only one game in the history of organized sport with a crazier, more f&*ked up final 3 minutes than that one. Here it is, enjoy. For reference, Plano East is trailing 41-17 in the Texas HS state championship with 3 minutes to play (note also that, as far as I can tell, there was competent officiating in this game):

Why We Fight

2008-11-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

Every year, even this one with the Irish football program in a very fragile state and (for the second straight season) the weaker record between the two teams, we get treated to another round of peanut gallery comments on why Notre Dame bothers playing the service academies. Specifically why the Irish bother with Navy, a team they've beaten 43 out of 44 times and are 70-10-1 against all-time. We hear the chuckles about how ND must be angling for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. But specifically when it comes to Navy, there's a deeper and much more significant reason why the series continues to this day. Here's an excerpt from one of the more compelling write-ups on that topic, which appeared in USA Today just before the 2004 game:

The man in the office overlooking the golden dome understands the renewal at Giants Stadium involves far more than the streaks of annual meetings. It is about blue and gold from sideline to sideline and essential, mutual support during periods of vulnerability, influences that have directed thousands of young lives, including his.

The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame for 35 years before his retirement in 1987 and a leader in American higher education for longer than that, defined the place Navy holds in the history of his school.

"All I can say is without the Navy during the war, this institution would have gotten down to a few hundred students," Hesburgh said during a conversation on campus this fall. "Instead of that, we were almost twice our normal size during the war, and we were able to contribute something to the Navy."

During World War II, as Notre Dame's enrollment dropped to Depression-era size, the Navy's decision to establish a Navy College Training Program on the South Bend campus in July 1943 provided much-needed economic relief and a surge of energy.

During the Vietnam era, as college administrations elsewhere restricted or abolished ROTC programs, Hesburgh's insistence preserved the Navy presence on campus.

"We said they're going to stay on campus," Hesburgh recalled. "This is their home, too. They're here, and they're welcome and they're going to stay here.

"If there's any relationship that we have in athletics that has really held up over the years, it's the Navy," he said. "People said, 'Well, Navy has a terrible team,' and I said, 'I hate to be winning all the time, but there were days when they won back in the glory days.' It has always been cordial."

Of course, in the following years since this article appeared some interesting new chapters have been written in the rivalry, especially for those on the Navy side in 2007. But the next time somebody wants to put down this series as another lame attempt by Notre Dame to schedule an easy win, you might want to suggest this history lesson.

A Shaq for All Seasons

2008-11-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Due to work obligations, I did not see more than about a 10 minutes slice of tonight's game in the middle of the second quarter. From the sound of many throughout the internet and phone, it seems like I didn't miss much. I've actively sought out other members of the board here to provide a recap that would be rooted in actual observation of the game, but they all angrily hung up on me (testy bunch).

So I figured we might as well begin to close out the week with some good news - the recruiting front, where on Friday Notre Dame picked up it's 17th overall commitment for the class of 2009, and likely the final one from an offensive standpoint. This was no tack-on either: WR Shaquelle Evans of Inglewood, CA, a consensus Top 100 player, rated with four stars by Rivals and Scout. The 6'2, 200-pound playmaker was actually a dreaded "soft verbal" to USC before visiting South Bend for the Purdue game and absolutely falling in love with the place:

"Yeah, on my official visit there, I could tell right away that I belonged at Notre Dame," Evans said. "It just felt like home for me and I always told myself that I wasn't going to commit to a school just because of how good the program was or how close to home it was, it was always going to be where I felt the most comfortable.
"I really bonded well with everyone at Notre Dame, players and coaches. I loved the campus and I like the area as well. Some people were saying there's not much to do there socially but I'm not a big party person anyway so it was just a perfect fit for me."

Such is the presence Notre Dame still has, and has had, under Charlie Weis. Once again they waltzed into USC's backyard and secured the services of a player Pete Carroll and his staff targeted for their own - it's also worth noting that Evans' announcement came at the end of press conference where he formally accepted an invitation to San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American game. Fellow Irish commits Zeke Motta, Cierre Wood, Tyler Stockton, & Chris Watt will be there as well. It wasn't so long ago that Notre Dame would've been lucky to secure the pledge of just one participant in Tom Lemming's annual infomercial/football game.

Where the futures market is concerned, this regime differs greatly from its two predecessors. But out on the football field during the last two weeks, where the real measure of success lies, plenty has been done to unravel any progress, and make that distinction moot. Nobody denies that recruiting proficiency is a major currency for a program and its head coach. It's what makes college football the ultimate "pay-in-advance" business. A big part of the reason coaches like Nick Saban, Carroll, and Urban Meyer are where they are is because they out-hustle everybody from February through August so they can have the strongest team possible starting every September. Charlie Weis has stayed with them stride for stride in each of his four years on the job in that derby. Unfortunately, it's looking like the "Monopoly Money" of recruiting is the only thing allowing him to stave off bankruptcy.

Post Mortem: Pittsburgh 36, Notre Dame 33 (4 OT)

2008-11-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Oh boy.

As a general rule here at the blog, we try to avoid linking Bill Simmons (except for Pat, who has some heretofore unexplained affection for the Boston Sports Guy). But after a moment like today, we do pause and give thanks for one of Bill's incredibly rare but meaningful contributions to sports fandom: The Levels of Losing. Why do I bring this up? Because Notre Dame's loss to Pittsburgh today definitely climbed into the highest echelon of Bill's pain evaluation level.

Today brought us Level III - The Stomach Punch:

Any roller-coaster game that ends with (A) an opponent making a pivotal (sometimes improbable) play or (B) one of your guys failing in the clutch. ... Usually ends with fans filing out after the game in stunned disbelief, if they can even move at all. ... Always haunting, sometimes scarring. ... There are degrees to The Stomach Punch Game, depending on the situation. ... For instance, it's hard to top Cleveland's Earnest Byner fumbling against Denver when he was about two yards and 0.2 seconds away from sending the Browns to the Super Bowl.

Thankfully no Super Bowl trip was on the line. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was based on a blind sample of most message board listings on NDNation, but this was a very average 5-2 Notre Dame team taking on a very average 5-2 Pittsburgh team. It was also the kind of game where the Irish had no trouble doing just enough to make sure they gave the game away.

Last week's riddle was, "Honestly, how good do you have to be to dominate Washington?" This week was, "How do you outgain a team, win the turnover battle 3-0, have your unreliable kicker nail four straight field goals, commit fewer penalties than your opponent, do better on third downs than your opponent, get more sacks than your opponent, more first downs than your opponent, hold a 14-point lead at half and still manage to lose the game?" If you look at the box score, not one single stat jumps out at you as an explaination of the result. There wasn't one glaring deficiency in either team's ledger - which probably explains why it took four overtimes to settle the matter. Let's look at each facet of the game for the two squads:

Rushing Offenses: Popular opinion running rampant on the message boards seems to be that Pittsburgh ran wild the entire day without even token resistance while Notre Dame couldn't get forward progress on the ground to save it's life. The stats paint a different picture: an effective, though hardly dominant Pitt game plan which emphasiszed running the ball over and over again, reflected in 47 runs for 178 total yards. I expected it to look as drastic on the scoresheet as it seemed to be on the field, but the truth was Pitt rushed for a good-enough-but-hardly-overwhelming 3.8 yards per carry - and that figure was boosted by getting to play four overtime periods. The Irish toted the ball 39 times but for an anemic 2.9/ypc.

Passing Offenses: Pitt was playing with second string quarterback Pat Bostick most of the day, but also mixed in third stringer Kevan Smith early in the game. Bostick's "long" completion of the day was three-yard pass to the flat on fourth-down, after which a basic failure to tackle on the part of Terrail Lambert turned it into a 37-yard gain. I'd have to double check the game film, but it seemed like whenever Bostick threw the ball over 12 yards it got either (a) dropped or (b) intercepted by Raeshon McNeil (he had two on the day as Pitt's QB threw three picks, two in the second half). On the ND side of things, Jimmy Clausen had another on-again/off-again day, finishing only 23-of-44 for 271 yards with 3 TDs, though no interceptions. That doesn't mean he played an error-free game, but credit him for staying away from the big mistakes that could've swung the outcome long before Conor Lee and Brandon Walker did.

Special Teams: Pitt forced the big miscue of the day with a blocked punt to set up their first points of the day, and Eric Maust misfired another one off the side of his foot, but neither team made much noise in the kicking and return games. As for placekicking, Brandon Walker shouldered what most would've considered an impossible load for im, being asked three different times to come up big with a kick to keep the Irish in the game, and he delivered. It was finally in the fourth overtime, kicking from the left side of the field, that he pushed it just a bit too far and opened the door for Pittsburgh. People who point the finger of blame at him for this loss are people who simply aren't paying attention.

Defenses: The Irish won the turnover battle with 3 interceptions of Bostick. Pitt in the second half was able to consistently come after Clausen with only three down lineman, but it wasn't hard for them to look dominating considering their offense held onto the ball for 10:51 in the third quarter alone. When Pitt needed to stop the Irish in the 4th quarter after tying the game, Clausen moved the ball at will, chewing up five minutes of clock and pushing the Irish back in front by a touchdown. From that point on the Panthers defense seemed to have their way, aided in part by a long chain of strange playcalls, particularly in the overtime period. It's worth noting however that the situation where Notre Dame really struggled to get into the endzone during the OTs - had second and goal at the 3 in the first session - is precisely where it really f&*kin' stinks to be down to two scholarship tight ends, both freshman who aren't even close to being polished blockers yet.

In breaking another unspoken cardinal rule, at this point I have to deputize Brian Hamilton into my assessment of the game:

It was two somewhat better-than-average teams engaged in an entertaining taffy pull. It was not, as Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt proclaimed, a game in which "legends are made," unless becoming the new Monsters of the Middling qualifies.

That, however, may be Notre Dame's reason to grieve: The Irish (5-3) thought they were beyond losing to teams like Pittsburgh (6-2), especially when Pitt is down to a backup quarterback and trails by two touchdowns at halftime at Notre Dame Stadium.

Only, they're not. Still.

Tough to take positives from any loss, especially one the Irish seemed to be thoroughly in control of before pretty much failing to do anything right in the second half. That's twice in a span of four weeks. It wasn't a game Pitt deserved to win, but rather a game the Irish ultimately deserved to lose. That's why it hurts right up there with the famous "Stomach Punches" Mr. Simmons likes to wax on about.

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 33, Washington 7

2008-10-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

Dueling thoughts that came to me while wondering if Game 5 of the World Series was ever going to be completed...

- One of the key questions for me after wrapping up Notre Dame's "first quarter" of the season was how (and if) the tailback pecking order would appear. The grab-bag approach simply wasn't going to translate into a solid running attack. After wrapping up Game 7 in Seattle, the answer appears to be that while the Irish don't need to turn one player into a Javon Ringer-eqsue 35 carries per game back, they do know where they stand alongside Jimmy Clausen in the backfield. Namely: when the Irish come out in what is essentially the "base" offense at this point with a spread-the-field, no-huddle attack, Armando Allen is the best option with his vision improving every week and his status as (by a wide margin) the best pass-catching back. Meanwhile, after duking it out with Robert Hughes for awhile, James Aldridge has emerged as a reliable option for the Irish in the short yardage/goalline package. Throw in Hughes and the rapidly developing frosh Jonas Gray, it makes an imposing package.

After winning Mike Haywood's open competition for such chores, Aldridge picked up a couple key third-and-shorts as well as his first career touchdown against North Carolina two weeks ago, and he continued to hammer away this week with 84 yards and two more touchdowns from close range against the Huskies. It's good that the arrow is pointing up and that the Irish appear settled on who'll be doing what for them going forward in the final five games, since the dominating game against UW (252 yards on the ground, second best in the Weis era behind his '05 debut against Pitt) bumped the Irish all the way up to...91st in the country running the ball. Work remains to be done in this department.

- I would say that the only thing proven with conclusiveness on Saturday was the answer to the riddle, "Exactly how good do you have to be to thoroughly dominate Washington?" And the answer was, "Really, honestly...not all that good." Which is not to say the Irish played poorly, but it seemed pretty clear by their body language in the second quarter (which Golden Tate pretty much confirmed after the game) that once they'd established a quick 14-0 lead, they went into sleep mode on offense. Clausen played the part, tossing two interceptions - one was called back due to pass interference - and misfiring a number of throws that wouldn't be described as easy but which Irish fans have quickly grown used to seeing him make. The statline was the definition of pedestrian: 14/26 for 201 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The Irish basically played on Saturday like it was going to be a game only as long as they allowed it to be, so it was great that they lived up to their vow for a fast start which snuffed any shred of hope their awful opponent might've had. Here's hoping they pivot the focus back to "4 full quarters" this week as they'll now take on 2 good teams and 1 great one over this closing stretch.

One Can Only Imagine...

2008-10-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

What these two could've been talking about.

To just close the book on these guys (I mean, for real. Let's just close the book), submit your own caption in the comments section. You know you want to. Go on, get it out of your system for good and all.

When the World Series calls ...

2008-10-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

... accept the charges. (Note: For those of you new to this blog, welcome. Please allow me to hi-jack George's outstanding work during the bye week to discuss a non-ND sports story).

As loyal readers of this blog should know, Philadelphia sports have a long history of losing. Longer than many of our lifetimes. I won't belabor this point, but just add 5 years to the ND football drought, and then act (ignoring women's hoops and soccer) like men's basketball, men's soccer, and women's volleyball are followed as closely (no offense, Olympic sports fans).

Immediately following ND alum Brad Lidge's fifth save of the postseason, my brother (ND '02 and current Philly resident) started texting me about getting tickets. I was intrigued, but went back to normal life. On Saturday, I get a text: my brother is at a wedding and listening to two of his buddies tell stories of World Series games they attended. His message: "We need to do this." Without giving time to second-guess myself, I channel Eric Gast and book a $294 flight Friday night DFW to PHL.

Stubhub says tickets are pushing $500, minimum. Due to an incredible serendipitous scheduling with a Monday off for Bishop Dunne homecoming and the World Series schedule, I will be in Philly for all 3 home games. I will let you know how the view from the Broad Street bars is.

Go Phils!
Why Can't Us?

Post Mortem: North Carolina 29, Notre Dame 24

2008-10-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

Damn it. Sorry...it's just....damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Perhaps the most sobering truth to come out of this is that this was actually the first time in a long time that Notre Dame played competently enough early that you could truthfully accuse them of choking away the game late. If there's been a time in the last three seasons when the Irish were so thoroughly in control of a game only to foolishly turn it into a loss, I can't remember it. And that is actually a significant, positive development. Why does it have to piss me off so much, though?

Wrapping up the loss both immediately and one day after, Charlie Weis asserted that his (still very) young team was "finally starting to get it". He'd never seen a locker room so down after a loss since the 2005 USC game. While there certainly isn't much of a comparison of those two games regarding what was at stake - win that '05 game and the Irish may very well have gone on to the BCS championship game, while this Saturday was merely for a spot in the Top 25 - the fact is that the first half against UNC was about as perfect as the Irish have played versus a quality opponent since those breathtaking 60 minutes against the Trojans on 10/15/05. That's why the second half was so hard to stomach.

A lot of armchair quarterbacking took place the next morning as people floated various punches and counter-punches: Why didn't Notre Dame run the ball more? Why didn't Weis kick a field goal early in the fourth quarter after the Irish fell behind by five? What was going through Clausen's head on that mid-fourth interception? Why didn't Michael Floyd immediately drop to the ground after catching that last pass? How could the replay officials so brazenly interject into a game as they did in the last two minutes, once with a pretty inexplicable overturn that allowed the Irish to get the ball back?

Valid inquiries, all. But the simple fact is that the reason for Notre Dame's loss can be boiled down to one simple number: 5. As in five turnovers by Notre Dame, all in the final 31 minutes of the game, to North Carolina's zero (although there was one forced turnover, a strip by Robert Blanton on a 3rd-and-18 completion that went unchallenged). Only a team with superb raw talent could lose the turnover battle 5-0 and still be in the game until the final play. Look at it another way: the Irish played well enough early that they would've survived losing the turnover battle 4-0. It was Jimmy Clausen's pick-six on the first play of the second half that provided the winning margin. So at least there's discernible progress made on the front of being a team that can withstand going -4 in the turnover category (not to mention big-time progress in pass blocking, pass catching, QB decision-making, playcalling, general emotional approaches, etc etc).

Is it too trite to invoke the "Rome wasn't built in a day" scenario now? The Irish reached the halfway point at 4-2, going 4-0 at home while competing (but not winning) in two road games against Top 25 teams. This is the mark of a team trying to rebuild itself from the scorched earth crater of a 3-9 season. As fans we naturally (and foolishly) expect the rebuilding process to be far ahead of schedule. It isn't. It's right where it's supposed to be. Maybe that puts the program somewhere different from where we all historically expect Notre Dame to be, but put it like this: the Irish have proven themselves good enough that a loss now comes as much from their own shortcomings as any talent or coaching deficiency. A year ago it was a pleasant surprise to actually lose to a good (not even a great, just a good) opponent by less than 28 on the road. One year later the Irish now have nothing to blame but their own mistakes for such a loss.

Recruiting Needs for Speed

2008-10-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! "It" in this case being the addition of two more players to Notre Dame's 2013 recruiting haul. First, from the shores of Jersey comes Nyshier Oliver, a one-time commitment to the Tennessee Vols who rates as an "athlete" but will likely start his ND career as a wide receiver; secondly, from Vero Beach, FL comes Zeke Motta, a load-bearing safety who rates as the most physical player at his position according to Rivals.com.

It sure seemed like recruiting was going to level off this season, and while this class won't be reaching the heights of a consensus #1 groups like last year, both Oliver and Motta continue a recent trend of picking up players who may not be tied down to one position. They have the physical skills to compete at several, much like current playmaker Golden Tate (principally a running back in high school who basically decided for ND's coaches that they should recruit him at receiver), safety/linebacker Harrison Smith, and fellow '13 commits Theo Riddick and E.J. Banks. Assuming Rivals can be trusted in reporting such things, Oliver stands to join Riddick as the fastest member of this pledge class with a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. That comes after the Irish signed 8 players who clocked a 4.5 or better last season (it was 5 in the current sophomore class and 9 in the current junior class).

For a point of contrast, USC's current junior class had 14 signees at 4.5 and under, though that inclues several players who transferred, such as Emmanuel Moody & Jamere Holland (for further contrast, the '06 class at Notre Dame also lost three speedsters due to transfer - Munir Prince, Demetrius Jones, and Richard Jackson). More significant to me was the following: two of the players in that class who are now universally hailed as among USC's fastest and most athletic on both sides of the ball, running back CJ Gable and safety Taylor Mays, were not among those who came in under the magic "4.5". That underscores another point: 'speed' and 'game speed' are two very different animals and the first doesn't always translate into the second. That's why all those people who figured NFL teams ought to be trying to lure Usain Bolt into a camp were being laughed at by pro scouts. Just because a guy is fast doesn't mean he knows how to play.

I'll tell you this much though - Notre Dame keeps adding, at a far stronger clip than in the not-so-distant past, the speed and athleticism that closes the gap on teams like USC. Let's just hope they can develop into guys that know how to play.

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 28, Stanford 21

2008-10-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

Chalk up another one in the "things that are different from 2007 column".

A year ago Michigan running back Mike Hart guaranteed victory over a hapless 0-2 Notre Dame team, which doesn't seem like it was all that ballsy except when you consider he was doing so as a representative of an equally hapless 0-2 Michigan team that had lost to Appalachian State. Irish players and coaches tut-tutted the trash talk, toeing the familiar line that "we'll speak on the field", and whatever they said didn't carry much weight in a 38-0 drilling that was more lopsided than the score would have you believe.

One year later, and Stanford offensive lineman Chris Marinelli decided there was a pot that needed stirring before Saturday's game in South Bend, noting how much he despises Notre Dame's field, stadium, surrounding area (and in a moment of brutal honesty, who's really going to argue him on that one?) and pretty much the idea of Notre Dame in general. Publicly the Irish laughed it off; privately they seethed, finally boiling over during the one shining beacon of spontanaeity during Friday's pep rally when Pat Kuntz (pictured, above) vowed, "I'm gonna rip his head off!" in the most Meathead-ish way possible. I say that with affection, Pat.

Marinelli's talk generated plenty of ink, but it was Notre Dame who had the last word in beating the Cardinal 28-21 on Saturday, a game where they played well enough to withstand their own sloppiness in the final ten minutes. That's another huge step forward, and let's again be frank - playing with a three touchdown lead has been uncharted territory for Notre Dame in the last 19 games. Let's break down the good and bad of all three Irish phases from Saturday:

Offensively: Always start with the bad news first (bear with me). The Irish remain way behind the eight ball in developing their running game. At this point I'd say the biggest issue is continuity. I recall so vivivdly sitting in Weis' press conferences during 2005 where he'd say he vehemently opposed a two-back system, which was why Darius Walker, as the best runner and surest pass catcher, was the unquestioned #1 back. Five games into the season, there is little question at this point those same two labels can be bestowed on Armando Allen. Now, specifically for the Stanford game he appeared to suffer an injury that necessitate mixing in Robert Hughes and James Aldridge. But democracy ought to be at an end by now if all other things are equal. For the day Notre Dame's running backs averaged under 3 yards per carry. Their meager 83 yards rushing was aided significantly by a fake punt from Harrison Smith early in the fourth quarter. If the Irish have to go one-dimensional this whole year it's gonna be tough to avoid losing three or possibly four more games.

And with that, we arrive at the good news (you always go bad news first, this way the good news makes up for it). If the Irish indeed have only one leg to stand on right now for offensive consistency, every single week it turns into a stronger leg. It belongs to Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Mike Floyd, and a leaps-and-bounds improving passing game. Clausen rang up 300 yards for the first time to go with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Since the fourth quarter of the Michigan State game he's thrown for better than 800 yards with 7 TDs and no picks, looking very impressive in doing so as a number of them have been audibles. One particular beauty from Saturday was his 48-yard bomb to Floyd, when the freshman from Cretin-Derham Hall blazed past Stanford cornerback Wompamo Osaisai, who happens to be the Pac-1o champion in the 100 meter dash.

Defense: This was the definiton of an up-and-down day. Here were the numbers on Stanford's first three drives: 27 plays, 174 yards. The first two marches into Irish territory ended with interceptions, one a phenomenal grab by David Bruton off a tipped ball, the second a good screen read by Kuntz. The third was an embarassment, the Cardinal marching at will 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. In the first quarter alone Stanford had 107 yards rushing.

But here were the next six Cardinal drives, stretching from midway through the second until the 12:54 mark of the fourth quarter: 21 plays, 8 total yards. In that span the Irish tacked on another pick and three sacks, trebling their total from the first four games and no doubt making Marinelli regret his dare to, "Keep 'em coming." During those final 13 minutes, however, the Cardinal moved the ball again with a 7 play, 72 yard drive and a 36 yard TD drive set up by the first long punt return allowed by the Irish this season. Suddenly it was a game, but the Irish buckled down and forced a turnover on downs, then snuffed out a trick play as time expired to end the comeback. Basically, the Irish allowed one long drive but then strangled Stanford until they'd built a 28-7 lead - and then they failed to put the opponent away. That's the kind of thing you only can get a handle on by being in a position to put the opponent away, and again, this is foreign territory for now. Pretty soon it won't be.

Special teams: Can anybody here make a field goal? We all crucified Weis last season for not attempting a 41-yarder to win the game against Navy, but can you really blame him if his best option is Brandon Walker? Aside from two more Walker hooks, leaving him 1-for-7 on the season, the Irish had a bad day in coverage, allowing the first long returns of the year, including a 38-yard runback on a fourth quarter punt which set up Stanford's last score of the day. At his Sunday wrap-up presser, Weis addressed special teams on all fronts:

I was very disappointed in special teams across the board yesterday. I didn't like the kickoff coverage. I didn't like kickoff return. I didn't like the punt coverage. On the punt coverage two things happened. We get a penalty on David on the interference call, then we give up a 38-yard return. On punt return, we didn't get much production. Then we missed a couple field goals on top of it. So I wouldn't exactly give glowing marks on special teams.
Tomorrow we'll get going on fixing the special teams. That's where the majority of Monday is.

And will that include a re-opened competition for the placekicker job between Walker and Ryan Burkhart?

I think we definitely have to explore Ryan kicking field goals. We definitely have to explore that because in Brandon's case, it's not obviously a case of being able to kick it high enough or far enough. When you're 1 out of 7 kicking field goals, it just doesn't cut it. You only can hang so long on this. We're fortunate it hasn't cost us more than what it's cost us already.

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 38, Purdue 21

2008-09-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

All around them, the questions lingered: what would this team do with the opportunity to make a statement? How would they respond when given a chance to seize the initiative in the late stages of a close ballgame? While the Irish somehow rose up to fend off San Diego State in the fourth quarter, that hardly should count as the impressive, "corner-turning" performance people had in mind as they keep searching for reasons to think this Irish squad has come a long way from their 3-9 season.

Well, here's a comparison point for you: in the fourth game of the 2007 season, Notre Dame came home from a humbling performance in Michigan to face a Big 10 opponent of average ability and played basically to a draw in the first half, trailing 17-14. They were shut out in the second half and dropped to 0-4 as the free fall continued.

In 2008, the Irish came home for the fourth game of the season following a humbling performance in Michigan to face a Big 10 opponent of average ability and played to a 14-14 draw in the first half. They then racked up 21 points and 200 yards of offense in the third quarter alone.

The 2007-2008 comparisons may not necessarily be apples-to-apples, but they could say just as much about how far the Irish have come as anything else. Let's make no mistake about it, the Irish should be able to put up those types of performances against a thoroughly average Purdue team. The fact that many are turning cartwheels over it only underscores how rare and freakish a phenomenon it has become for Notre Dame to dispatch a team it should have no problem dispatching. This was something the Irish should be capable of by now.

And now that it's finally here, this is no time for a reversion to the mean before another mediocre opponent comes waltzing into Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish have three crucial "swing" games remaining on the schedule - in two weeks at a rapidly-improving North Carolina, then November 1st against Pitt and then November 8th at Boston College. Toss in four very winnable games against Stanford and Syracuse at home, Washington and Navy on the road, and suddenly the idea of the Irish being a nine or even ten win team as they head to Southern Cal isn't completely insane. In order for that to happen though, they need to take the final 30 minutes of the Purdue game and use it as the rock upon which the rest of the season is built, not some happy accident that occurred by virtue of the opponent's below-par resistance.

On offense, the Irish again moved the ball in the first half only to act like the "bizarre white substance" known as the goalline was territory not to be trifled with. After opening with a three-and-out, Jimmy Clausen directed the Irish to the Purdue 39 only to be stopped on fourth and 1...again. On the next possession the Irish made their first trip inside the red zone...and saw it end with a shanked Brandon Walker field goal after Duval Kamara's valiant effort on the fade route was ruled an incompletion.

Freshman corner Robert Blanton finally pumped a little life into the Irish by joining the parade of underclassmen scorers when he jumped one of the Boiler's timed slants and used a couple blocks for a 47-yard touchdown return. Even though a fatigued Irish defense yielded a touchdown on the next drive, Clausen needed only six plays and 2:11 to knot the score on the next drive, which featured a beautiful deep ball to Mike Floyd (another freshman) on third down.

On the opening possession of the third half, the Irish needed only 5 plays to move 81 yards for a lead they never relinquished. It was this possession where the light really seemed to turn on for a number of players, including one Armando Allen who racked up the five longest runs of his young career on his way to 134 yards rushing, also a career-best.

Probably the most impressive play of the game, given when it occurred and the statement it made, came with the Irish facing a fourth down at the Purdue 30. The Boilermakers had connected on a long touchdwon to make it 28-21 and were set to regain possession down only one score late in the third quarter. For this particular play, everybody, even Charlie Weis, knew better than to expect a Walker field goal try. Having successfully harassed Clausen into a miss on third down, Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Spack (remember him?) dialed up the blitz once more. Clausen recognized the one-on-one chance this would provide and, given a crucial split second as Sam Young picked up an untouched blitzer, lofted an absolutley perfect pass to David Grimes for his third touchdown of the day. This is what improving teams do - they answer when challenged. For the quarter the Irish held the ball for 11:00 minutes exactly, racked up 204 yards, went 1-of-3 on third downs (but 2-of-2 on fourth downs) and put up 21 points after failing to score in the third quarter all year. Slice it down because they were facing an awful defense if you must, but that's progress.

Which, admittedly, won't signify much if they don't build on it next week. Much like how the fourth quarter of the San Diego State game carried over into the first half of the Michigan game, this second half against Purdue has to serve as a springboard to the next game. In other words - no three-and-out opening drive against Stanford.

Post Mortem: Michigan State 23, Notre Dame 7

2008-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Lots of college football coaches will tell you that a big question mark on a team is how they respond to their first road game of the season particularly if it comes after they've opened with multiple home games. The Irish haven't opened a season under such circumstances since 2000, when they played three straight in South Bend to open the year. In their first road game that season they traveled to East Lansing and somehow, someway, were on the verge of a 21-20 victory despite gaining just 212 yards of offense. But Jeff Smoker hit Herb Haygood on a slant for a 68-yard touchdown to give Michigan State a fourth straight victory over Bob Davie's Irish, a streak they would run to 5.

Coincidentally, 2000 had been the last time the home team was victorious in the series between the Irish and Spartans. That streak ended Saturday as ND experienced a reversal of fortunes from their performance against Michigan the weekend before - it was they who went into a hostile environment and turned into their own worst enemy, shoving aside whatever progress and potential might've been made so far this season for more hand-wringing over what has gone wrong.

The simple truth is this: Notre Dame was 3-9 last season and it wasn't a hard luck 3-9, if such a thing even exists. They earned it through terrible play & terrible coaching. People who were expecting an about face into 10-2, 11-1 (including you, Lou Holtz, bless you), were off in fantasy land. 3-9 is like a horrendous stain on the carpet - you can scrub and scrub, but it's never completely going to go away. I liken it to a 12 game season that can be broken up into four quarters - where are you after 3 games, 6 games, etc. So, three games into the season, what do we know about the Irish that we didn't know before?

They are better than they were a year ago. Anybody who wants to dismiss that as simply playing three weaker teams as compares to last year's "murderer's row" opening three of 7-5 Georgia Tech, 8-4 Penn State, and 8-4 Michigan is welcome to that opinion. They would be wrong, but they're welcome to it. After 3 games last season the Irish had yet to crack 200 yards of offense in any game, yet to have ANY play on offense that went longer than 15 yards, yet to score a touchdown on offense, yet to win a game, yet to go one quarter without allowing a sack, yet to win the turnover battle in any game, yet to [fill in the blank]. You can pick any category or metric you want, and the Irish are further ahead this year after three games than at the same point a year ago.

They remain far from a Top 25 team. That's reality. Deal with it. When you go 3-9 with a team as young as the Irish were, there is no miracle drug for the following season. 7-5 should be where they finish, 8-4 would be a nice accomplishment. And both of those records would put them in a position to play a winnable bowl game against an opponent at their level, a position they haven't been in since the 1998 Gator Bowl, when they lost to Georgia Tech. This is not a team that is supposed to be competing for a national championship or a BCS berth, and the results through three games fully reflect that.

Golden Tate & Michael Floyd can flat-out play. I seem to recall a lot of angst in recent recruiting cycles over how the Irish kept "missing" on all those stud wide receivers and how it made no sense given that Coach Weis could sell the success of Brady Quinn throwing to Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, & Rhema McKnight. Through three games in '08, there is mounting evidence that Jimmy Clausen will use Tate & Floyd, along with Duval Kamara, to take the Irish passing game back to, if not beyond, the heights of 2005 and 2006. Through the third game Tate has 303 receiving yards, just 69 yards away from passing John Carlson's team leading total for the whole '07 campaign. Clausen and Evan Sharpley combined to throw 12 TDs all of last season; Clausen has 6 through the first three games this year, 2 apiece to Floyd and Tate. The future is bright for this aspect of the Irish offense.

Passing progress aside, the Irish must find a way to run the ball. Last season Notre Dame average a beyond pathetic 75 yards per game on the ground. This year it's ticked all the way up to...78.2, though that figure was depressed by an abysmal performance in East Lansing, where the longest ground play was 24 yards to Tate on reverse, and the three Irish tailbacks (Robert Hughes, James Aldridge, & Armando Allen) combined for 30 yards on 15 carries. For the day the Irish rushed for only 16 yards due to yardage lost on three sacks of Clausen, the first three the line surrendered all year. In games one and two the Irish were far from dominant in the ground game, but they did rush the ball "just enough". As you get deeper into a season that won't cut it - and that's all anybody can really say at this point. If I knew the solution to get the running game going, I'd be out at Cartier helping Weis and John Latina run practice. Instead I'm sitting behind a computer.

Everything about special teams is better, except the one area that matters most. This seems to be a real lightning rod topic. Here are the fact concerning Notre Dame's performance on special teams through three games (and remember, these rankings stack them up against plenty of teams that have already played four games):

Armando Allen is in the Top 50 nationally for both punt returns (11.17 per) and kickoff returns (24.12 per).
Eric Maust is again in the top 40 for net punting, averaging 41.62 per boot (down just slightly from 42.09 last season)
The Irish have allowed 13 yards total on opponent punt returns through 3 games.

Unfortunately, there is one unit which people look to in assessing the quality of the special teams phase, as it is the only one which directly puts points on the board: placekicking. Brandon Walker (above, right, in the closing moments of the MSU game) won the job in fall camp amid reports that his leg strength and form had gotten much stronger. That much was clear when he was called upon for his first 50+ attempt of his college career Saturday. He put plenty of leg on the 51-yard boot...but sailed it way to the right. Late in the game with the Irish trying to claw back within one score, he went out to attempt a 41-yarder - and shanked that one badly to the right as well. Through one season and three games, Walker is 1-for-10 on attempts over 30 yards, the one make a 48-yarder against UCLA. And the kicking woes don't stop or start with him either - through three games the Irish have whiffed on finding a reliable snapper for kick attempts, using true freshman Braxston Cave and walk-on senior Kevin Brooks with muddled success.

Meanwhile, junior Ryan Burkhart consistently leaves kickoffs 10 yards shy of the endzone. At the top of my list for frustrating developments in the Charlie Weis Era, I'd have to put, "How has it come to pass that Notre Dame can't find one kicker who can make it outside of 30...or one who can put the ball consistently inside the five yard line on a kickoff?"

Heading into quarter two, here's one man's take on the Michigan State game: it was two very average teams meeting up and in those matchups, the team with fewer mistakes generally wins. So toss in two missed field goals, an interception in the endzone, and a fumble at the 14-yard line, and the game is exactly as Weis described: one where the Irish still had a chance to win despite being thoroughly undeserving of such.

Anatomy of a Goalline Pass

2008-09-18T18:24:00.001-07:00

When it works, it's a thing of beauty. And when it doesn't, it has sent many posters on NDNation into a Tourette's style stream-of-consciousness profanity streak. I speak of course, of the play-action pass used frequently by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish inside the five-yard line.

It's not a big secret where this play comes from - turn on the TV during Sundays and you'll notice that practically every NFL team has it in the playbook and uses it, some teams quite liberally, in the red zone. The reason for that is when properly executed it has a great success rate because the defense gets sucked into an as-expected run, leaving at most one or two men covering as many as three receivers.

Against Michigan, the Irish called the play from the 1-yard line on 2nd and Goal midway through the second quarter. To place it in context, here was the Irish drive up to that point:

1st and 10 at ND 13		Armando Allen Jr rush for 2 yards to the NDame 15.
2nd and 8 at ND 15		Jimmy Clausen pass complete to Golden Tate for 60 yards to the Mich 25 for a 1ST down.
1st and 10 at MICH 25		Jimmy Clausen pass complete to Michael Floyd for 9 yards to the Mich 16.
2nd and 1 at MICH 16		James Aldridge rush for 7 yards to the Mich 9 for a 1ST down.
1st and Goal at MICH 9		James Aldridge rush for 8 yards to the Mich 1.

Three runs and two quick passes, one a screen and the other a slant that both receivers turn into longer gains, extra long in Tate's case. Here's what the Irish break out with on 2nd and Goal:

Three tight ends - Yeatman to the left, Rudolph on the right. Luke Schmidt motions from left to right, along with fullback Asaph Schwapp and Robert Hughes. From the get-go it looks like a run formation, and the Wolverines counter with 9 men crowding the line of scrimmage.

At the snap the Irish get a good push on Michigan's six-man front, but linebacker John Thompson is steaming through untouched, as is #90 Tim Jamison from the top of the screen. Both Schmidt and Yeatman immediately break into a pass pattern, while #9 Kyle Rudolph holds briefly as it he's going to block before breaking across the middle opposite of Yeatman.

Here's where you can see how the play was set up to work and the one reason it does not. Everybody on the Michigan defense, especially #49 Thompson, who's simply put his head down to ram into Hughes, and #8 Jonas Mouton, trying to move past Yeatman towards the pile, is thinking it's a run. There's one exception and it's what ultimately dooms the play - Tim Jamison is going for Jimmy Clausen the whole way, and #55 Eric Olson doesn't pick him up. This may be a product of how Olson is supposed to be blocking on the play - he's waiting to pick up #45 Obi Ezeh (obscured in this view but charging through the middle on a beeline for Hughes).

From the wider view, you can see that the play is basically over because Jamison, as a seasoned fifth-year veteran end should, hasn't fallen for the play fake, surely a combination of knowing his assignment and studying tape of Notre Dame's tendency in the red zone. But you can see from this view where the play was going - suck in the linebackers to the run and open the middle of the endzone for two crossing tight ends, which is precisely what happens. Mouton is left alone responsible for two receivers taking him to directly opposite corners. He chooses to trail Rudolph but is already a step behind and wouldn't have a chance on a strong throw. Meanwhile, Yeatman is wide open. Having an extra split second to plant his feet gives Clausen all the time he needs to lay one in for either man, though he appears set on Rudolph from the outset. Instead, Jamison's rush forces Clausen into an off-balance pop fly. Cornerback Donovan Warren - playing "center field" in the back of the end zone and also a step behind Rudolph - is able to come over the top for the pick because of the extra hang-time, but he a) cannot land with a foot in bounds, and b) gets flagged for pass interference as he shoves off Rudolph to gain positioning. Given a first down inside the one, Notre Dame finishes off the drive with a run to Robert Hughes.

So, good call or bad call to go play-action pass on second down? If you remember your West Wing, you'll recall an episode when White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry proudly declares that the US Missile Defense test has just met "9 of the 10 criteria for a successful test"...the 10th criterion being the part where the system actualy, you know, takes out the weapon. Similarly, a lot of things work as scripted on this play, but the simple heads-up work by a defensive veteran wipes it all out. There seems to be an argument over whether Michigan saw and anticipated this play coming, but upon further review they didn't show the Irish anything special defensively and Clausen had the open men he wanted.

The deeper question: why throw on second-and-goal from the one, especially since you just demonstrated on the very next play that, unlike a year ago, the Irish can in fact put the ball in from short yardage behind an improved offensive line? Why take the risk of an interception or sack, both which very nearly happened on this play? I'm not sure it can be boiled down to Weis and Haywood simply have an inbred allergy to the running game. I think Haywood realized that coming to a second-and-1 after two solid runs by James Aldridge, Michigan would be guessing run or at least susceptible to a play-fake, making this pass (in his mind) a higher probability of scoring a touchdown than a run on second down. The Irish then beat 10 of the 11 Michigan defenders, but in order for it to work they needed Clausen to either figure out a way to step out of Jamison's rush - something he's still learning to do - or rifle one to Yeatman in the face of the blitz. Neither happens, but the Irish catch a break and live to score another play.

Personally I saw no reason not to keep the ball on the ground here, but I can see the thinking that led to this play at this moment in the game. It just didn't work out. Late in the 4th quarter with the game sealed, the Irish tried this play again on 4th down, only with Michael Floyd & Duval Kamara split wide. That was they play Irish fans will remember Quinn-to-Samardzija executing multiple times through 2005 and 2006. Floyd outjumped the Michigan defender but couldn't corral the ball in wet conditions, dropping it into the lap of Stevie Brown as he lay on the turf.

So is there too much cutesy jump-ball throwing for the Irish at the goal line? I'd say it's tough to point out these two plays as evidence of that, but they could merely be added to the pile of goalline passes we saw (some which worked, many which did not) from a year ago. Two games in is not the definitive data set on where the Irish are in the redzone, but considering that of 5 red zone TDs three were by air and two on the ground (with two others by air from outside the 20), you get the feeling the Irish will again trend more towards the pass in these situations. Then again, maybe not.

Out-Rudying Rudy

2008-09-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Rudy, the 1993 David Ansen film starring Sean Astin as everybody's favorite walk-on scrub, is basically required viewing for any Notre Dame fan. We all know the storyline by heart: scrawny Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, told time after time he's too small, too slow, too stupid to amount to anything beats back the odds to win admission to Notre Dame and becoming an inglorious tackling dummy for Ara Parseghian's Fighting Irish. Overcoming everything with pure grit and determination, Rudy wins the respect of the Irish players and coaches, finally getting into a game with 27 seconds left in the home finale of the 1974 season. What a story.

Now, what if I were to tell you that you could have that life-long dream fulfilled and be a vital cog in the special teams unit currently ranked 3rd best in country at stopping kick returns, 8th best against punt returns? Is that something you might be interested in?

Well then here once more, the man who needs no introduction, winner of Section 29's prestigious Sean Calloway Award for 2007, from Orland Park, Illinois, #37...Mike Anello!

Anello won plaudits last year for his scrappiness, and further recognition early this season for completing the journey from walk-on ex-wrestler to scholarship special teams gunner. But if last season he was merely an extra who got picked out to deliver a few lines, his play this year has him receiving the all-out headliner treatment. Doing a quick Google News search for "Mike Anello" found the following write-ups:

Notre Dame's Anello Out-Rudying Rudy (Associated Press)
ND's Special Team Specialist Living His Dream (WSBT)
Walk-on for Irish Something Special (Fort Wayne Journal)
Anello a modern-day Rudy for the Irish (Chicago Sun-Times)
ND's Unlikely Gunner (Chicago Tribune)
Modern-day Rudy makes his mark (CNN/SI)

If he hadn't before, Mike Anello has most definitely arrived now, with a niche carved out for himself that would make a lot of special teams coaches across America envious. His height (listed as 5'9 in the Irish program) and weight (listed, again emphasis on listed, as 170 pounds) hardly make him a candidate to be dishing out hits against some of the quickest and most agile return men around. Fortunately for Anello he hit the jackpot by playing with all those buzzwords that every fan/coach is looking for - heart, emotion, desire, instinct, fire, intensity, and grit. When a guy who not only looks like the water boy but has been mistaken for such at his own stadium (just randomly click on any of the above articles, that particular anecdote is in practically all of them) is blowing past your return unit and either recovering or causing fumbles at will, it tells who's actually giving 110% out there on the field. Every team in America is out there looking for a Mike Anello, and the Irish are one of the lucky teams that have one.

Just to cap off the story, here's the thoughts of the original version on Rudy 2.0, from the Sun-Times article linked above:

Rudy Ruettiger has a remedy for what ails Notre Dame's football program. His name is Mike Anello.
''Emotion. That's what's missing,'' said the former Notre Dame walk-on who was the inspiration for the movie ''Rudy.'' ''That's what Anello has. He has that spirit, that heart. He is all passion. I wonder what you could do with a whole team of Anellos.''
Earlier this season, Weis rewarded Anello -- whom he describes as being ''5-foot-2'' and weighing ''12 pounds'' -- with a scholarship. Not long after, Anello was stopped outside Notre Dame Stadium by security and told the entrance he was attempting to use was for ''players only.''

''If people don't know I play football, I don't bother telling them,'' he said. ''They wouldn't believe me anyway.''

Actually, there is a growing legion of believers. Count Ruettiger among them.

''Fans want that type of spirit, emotion and passion,'' he said. ''That's what the kid stands for. It gives them hope."

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 35, Michigan 17

2008-09-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: After 10 days of jousting with the Blogger server, we are pleased to announce that we have finally beaten the insurgent little rogue into submission and can resume our normal blogging activities. Hoo-rah.

The Irish took a fairly significant step in the right direction on Saturday, blowing past Michigan 35-17 on a day that started and ended with flooding of biblical proportions. In between, the Irish rained on the Wolverine's parade by pouncing on every single one of Michigan's all-too-numerous mistakes, affording themselves the luxury to hit cruise control throughout a slop-filled second half. Beating the Wolverines of 2008 hardly qualifies as an earth-shattering victory, but it was the type of day the Irish needed after their opening act against San Diego State.

In a script most recently seen during the 2006 and 2007 editions of this contest, when Notre Dame turnovers led to one embarrassingly easy Michigan score after another, the Irish turned the tables as "Big Blue" spent most of the afternoon figuring how many unique ways they could think of to shoot themselves in the foot. The result was a 14-0 Notre Dame lead less than 5 minutes into the contest, an edge the Wolverines were never able to whittle under 11 points in spite of strong performances by young quarterback Steven Threet and freshman running back Sam McGuffie. To their credit, every week the Wolverines start to look incrementally better running the Rich Rodriguez offense. It's that pesky concept of ball security they're having trouble with, as they fumbled 7 times (losing 4 of them) to go with two interceptions.

Unlike in 2007, when the Irish were more likely to look a gift horse in the mouth than bother to attempt any scoring, they punched in two early fumbles for touchdowns, burned the UM secondary late in the first quarter and then again midway through the second on their way to 28 first half points - or, to put it in proper context, more points on offense in one half against Michigan than they scored in the first four games against Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan, & Michigan State a year ago. While not exactly the breakthrough everybody's waiting for, it's a least the kind of positive forward movement that will have the therapist saying, "We're making some genuine progress."

It takes two points of date to make a line, and this performance definitely ticked the Irish stock up from their starting point a week ago versus the Aztecs. Not close to blue-chip status, mind you, but enough motion to make their progress worth tracking going forward. Among the trends to watch:

How will the running back spot continue to shake out? Robert Hughes and James Aldridge, the latter getting his first action of the season, handled 28 of the 34 running attempts for 3.8 yards a pop - hardly dazzling but again a sign of progress for a team that was the country's worst at running the ball a year ago matched up with a team that was one of the best at stopping the run. While the Irish have the luxury of three backs each hosting a unique skill set, they need somebody to step up as the indisputable hot hand.
Tate is the new Ismail: With four catches against the Wolverines for 127 yards a touchdown, sophomore Golden Tate's numbers of 10/220/2 through 2 games in '08 put him at essentially double his output for all of 2007 (6/131/1). Last season John Carlson led the Irish with 372 yards receiving in 12 games - look for Tate to blow past that mark before the end of September.
Safety help, and then some: There are two ways to look at the stats through two games showing that Notre Dame's leading tacklers are, by quite a wide margin, their two safeties Kyle McCarthy and David Bruton. When no other two Irish defenders combined have as many solo stops as the two men in the deep backfield, is this a sign the Irish have no reinforcements? I would argue that, for the moment, the high tackle count for the safeties is not a concern. Notre Dame played consecutive games against spread-the-field offenses where the best defense is sure-tacklers in open space, not necessarily bulky defensive lineman or lateral moving linebackers. Both McCarthy and Bruton have executed that role flawlessly in the first two weeks - as the Irish face a more traditional power running team this week and a wide-open run'n'shoot offense next, more of the burden will fall to the other 9 guys on the field.
Call Me Haywood: The Irish offense was more fluid, better scripted, better managed, and better executed. Credit to Charile Weis, Mike Haywood, and the offensive staff for putting a big red bullseye on the Michigan secondary and getting the Irish offense ready to shoot to kill. When it mattered, the Irish picked up right where they left off against San Diego State in the 4th quarter and also helped grind the game to the finish in nearly unplayable second half conditions. There are nits to pick with selected play calls and while the Irish gained only 260 yards of total offense, they were ready and they accomplished what they set out to do, which put Michigan in a hole they were unable to dig out of.
Get Well Soon: Weis demonstrated a little toughness (and I'm gonna guess a willingness to guzzle Vicodin during halftime) after being clipped by John Ryan during a punt return late in the first half. Diagnosis - torn ACL/MCL, which naturally is the same injury that befell Tom Brady, Weis' former pupil, a week ago in New England. NBC excerpted some coverage of the hit and the aftermath here.

Even though the Irish have a lot to be satisfied with about how the game went on Saturday, they certainly cannot sit back and be satisfied (and boy, does that sound like a Rumsfeld-ism). The Irish spent the weekend talking about respect and how the Michigan game was viewed as a chance to earn some back, from Maurice Crum's speech at Friday's pep rally to Weis' post-game comments:

They wanted to make a statement that Notre Dame is not some garbage school out there that everyone can crap on all the time.

After Saturday, maybe a few people out there would concede that teams can't crap on Notre Dame all the time. But this is no time for the Irish to feel content that they've proven everybody wrong, because they haven't. A lot of work remains before this team can legitimately claim to be a finished product, but for the first time in a long time it looks like they're well on the way towards that goal.

Post Mortem: Notre Dame 21, San Diego State 13

2008-09-07T23:02:00.001-07:00

To me, the result of this game has wound up meaningless. I mean, good and truly meaningless. It doesn't even concern me, which it should because for most of the game the Irish manage to take the concept of "playing down to your opponent" to a sickening new level.

What I mean is that there was literally no way for Notre Dame to win yesterday. No matter what type of progress they managed to make, no matter what they did or didn't do, it was a classic no-win situation. If they'd come out with the "as expected" result of a 48-3 beatdown, the prevailing attitude from people outside would've been "Big deal, it's SDSU and they just lost to Cal Poly. Call back when you beat a real team". Then there was the sickening alternative that the Irish could embarass themselves by failing to win by four touchdowns or (gulp) losing.

In a lot of ways this was, plain and simple, Notre Dame's moment on the brink. At least as far as it concerns Charlie Weis. There's no recovering from an opening day loss to a team you had 9 months to prepared for, that's not only terrible but coming off a loss to a Championship Subdivision opponent. And the margin for error wound up being fractions of a centimeter - that's how much further away David Bruton would've needed to be to give the officials a clear view on the replay of San Diego State's goalline fumble in the fourth quarter. The play would've put the Aztecs up 20-7, had fruit raining down on the field, and NDNation's Suicide Hotline switchboard lit up like the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas Tree.

Now, that was my prediction of what would follow an Irish loss. How maddening is it that it's basically what happened despite the fact that they won?

Not that much so when you factor in how the Irish made enough mistakes to crowd two or three games worth in a span of 50 minutes. This type of performance, it goes without saying, will not get the job done against Michigan. It barely - emphasis on barely, a sad commentary in and of itself - got the job done against San Diego Flippin' State.

Since I've ranted on without merit or actual contribution to the discussion for a solid three paragraphs, it shouldn't be surprising that I can parse this game down to one thing: turnovers. The Irish committed six of them - four in the actual (2 fumbles, 2 interceptions) and two in the practical with a pair of missed field goals. Of those six botches, we can safely assume that three of them (the fumble and two FGs) cost the Irish points, while another (an interception thrown in the endzone from the 17-yard line) costed the Irish some likely points. Assuming the bare minimum of succes in all four instances (made FGs), the game winds up being 33-13 and only three in five Irish fans are trying to slash their wrists instead of four.

To me, that's the story of the game, just like I kinda-sorta predicted it would be on Friday - you can argue all day about the benefits of multiple years in the system, experience, savvy, arm strength improvements, etc. Fact is this is still a) a very young team and b) a very young team playing its opening game. Screw-ups on some scale were inevitable, and while plenty of people put up the face that they would stomach such mistakes, the reality is everything got shot to hell the first time the Irish didn't run the ball on third-and-two. The knives were out and it only got worse.

Everything about the offense was still screaming "awkward! out of synch!" While it certainly cannot all be explained away by "first-game jitters", you cannot dismiss the fact that this was Game 1. The unfortunate reality is that everybody convinces themselves that you're gonna come out of the chute looking like a finished product from the first snap. Maybe a team laden with juniors and seniors can do it. A team that counts just two seniors on the entire two-deep (WR David Grimes and QB Evan Sharpley, along with just three juniors) and it was again something people decided to ignore in the hope that it will go away.

Not that "youth" explains every problem either. To start with, whoever was calling the plays did a terrible job of trying to get a read on what was working. Obvious run downs became lob passes. Long downs when one might try to stretch the field gave us swing routes. A rhythm was finally established once and for all when the Irish went for broke with an up-tempo response to that game-changing fumble which probably wouldn't have been a fumble but a back-breaking touchdown with the proper replay angles. Of course, we can say that about Robert Hughes' "fumble" too at the three yard line early in the second quarter.

Which now brings me to what I consider the silver lining, a chance to turn a heap of negatives into a positive: the Irish did absolutely everything they could to give the game away and still came out with a win. To quote the omnipotent Vin Diesel: "It doesn't matter whether you win by an inch or a mile - winning's winning." The prevailing reaction for a long time among Notre Dame fans is to see the results and then reverse-engineer everything back to either a lack of emotion or a lack of coaching. Emotion wasn't why Robert Hughes got stripped at the goalline, or why Duval Kamara let a perfectly-thrown laser bounce off his hands into a SDSU defender (seriously, when somebody went on to NDNation last night and tried to blame that pick on Clausen with the logic of "You can't throw it that hot", I knew the place had officially gone off the deep end. It restored my faith ever so slightly to see most of the board renounce that poster on the spot).

Here's one humble take on this opener: there was a near-fatal amount of mistakes in this game, but every single one of them was correctable. Last season had a terrible vibe to it from the word go - there was no way to define it but you knew it when you saw it. This year it's thankfully simpler: Hughes needs to work on ball security near the goalline. Kamara on catching the ball, particularly on a slant, with his hands and not his body. Clausen on the timing and sequencing of his reads, something that grows with time as a quarterback. And in another brilliant step forward, he audibled out of a planned comeback route on 3rd-and-11 and told Mike Floyd to head for the endzone. Perfectly thrown ball, touchdown Irish. Here's hoping it was the first of many more to come.

What's #1?

2008-09-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Finally, at long last, game day is...almost here. One day more, Irish fans. One last night of having to beat back the nightmares of a five-man rush and a zero-man block against Michigan. One last night of waking up and thinking, "There's no way we actually lost to Navy...right?" One last time having to think about how nice it would be to rush for merely 20 yards. One final evening of going to bed with only the hypothetical to fall back on.

At 3:30 PM EDT, Irish football is back. Which brings us to the final stop in the countdown, our #1 key to the season. Hit it (no, seriously. I mean HIT it.)

#1 - Passing the Physical

How many times did you see Notre Dame blow somebody away at the point of attack? How many times did they make a solid, true open-field tackle? How many times did it seem like the Irish shied away from blunt force and let their opponent dictate the pace of the game? How many lineman does it take to protect Jimmy Clausen? While the answer to these first three is a consensus "Hardly ever", "Not many", and "Too often", nobody knows about that fourth one - it's never been done before. (I'll be here all week, be sure to tip the waitress)

Notre Dame's biggest "identity" crisis last year wasn't one of playcalling, or scheming, or even emotional makeup. It was the simple meat-and-potatoes of what the jump to the next level entails. In college you don't get six weeks of training camp and unlimited practice time each day. You don't get four preseason games and the luxury of "easing up" the contact of your starters so they can stay fresh for the games that really count. There are no dress rehearsals in the NCAA - every game counts and you need to be ready for the trials as soon as the lights go up. There is no grace period. This was something Charlie Weis either did not grasp, or he dismiessed it as unimportant next to his all-powerful playbook.

The time to get a team featuring more greenhorn starters than anybody can remember ready is during spring and fall camp - having them knock the snot out of each other so that the games come across as easy, not waiting until the opening drives of the year to rotate players like crazy so they learn to "play fast" against the real deal. This is the litmus test on which the entire season is going to hinge - how physical can the Irish be? I'm not asking for total domination at the line, for 10 sacks per game defensively, or 250 yards rushing. But last season was like a walking nightmare, and too often the Irish were out there playing like nothing more than the walking wounded. If that patten turns, hopefully the Irish win total will too.

Well, 12 days of articles and clever cliches and prognostications, and now it's gut check time. After all that, how do you see the Irish season unfolding? Well, let me totally cop out by announcing myself to be out of the prediction business. Personally I don't see the same things that are making people predict 9, 10, or even 11 (God bless you, Lou Holtz) wins. Even factoring in some expected improvement, that's an almost impossible leap for a team that good-and-earned every one of its 9 losses a year ago.

Tomorrow's game could let some people down because the near-uniform expectation is that the Irish will come out, steamroll the Aztecs into submission, and win 48-3 (and people will instantly hit the NDNation message boards bitching about how the defense let up a field goal). Personally I doubt such an explosion is coming, and there's no way to quantify how much San Diego State's already playing a game versus the Irish making their debut will register. Don't be stunned if the Irish make some of those classic, infinitely correctable errors that occur in an opener. I still think it's a relatively comfortable win...so to automatically go against my vow to stay out of the prediction business forever, let's say ND 27, San Diego State 10.

Of Prime Importance

2008-09-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Since we know nobody bothers to check out the blogs on Saturdays, we move the countdown into the hurry-up so's to be able to finish tomorrow and not on the actual Zero Hour of 3:30 PM Saturday. We look at one man and one unit that hold Irish fortunes in their hands...

#3 - I Understand You're Contemplating a Blitz

The hiring of Jon Tenuta to be "Assistant Coach - Defense" raised a few eyebrows around college football, but it raised the expectations of Notre Dame fans high as a paper kite. This is a guy who could've gone to be a defensive coordinator anywhere he chose, so why was he coming to work under Corwin Brown, pundits asked. Irish fans, meanwhile, were asking 'How many sacks will we get during the opponent's first drive?"

It's no secret Tenuta loves to blitz. If you watched any tape of the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech games from the last two years, you know this. I would also hesistate to call his blitz packages "exotic", which is another one of those in vogue descriptors being thrown around to describe defense these days. This guy is pure old school - playing defense is about one thing: see ball, get ball. Everything else is just window dressing.

Knowing Tenuta's football philosophy, the real trick for the 2008 Irish will be how will his schemes can be grafted on to the preferences of defensive coordinator Corwin Brown. One of the interesting notes is that the Irish only face what could be called a "traditional" offense once in the first month. San Diego State is a wide-open, pass-60-times-per-game unit, Michigan is in the throes of an awkward transition to the zone-read spread attack, and Purdue is once again Purdue. Michigan State, with classic dropback QB Brian Hoyer and running back Javon Ringer, is the kind of team Tenuta's blitz-happy defense likes. Brown's shifting personnel groups and 3-4 setup to get more atheletes into space rather than running straight for the quarterback would work better against the other early opponents.

Both Brown, Tenuta, and Charlie Weis have been pretty clear that Brown is still the coordinator and Tenuta is the linebackers coach and sounding board for the defensive gameplan, not the other way around. The expectation is that he can enhance the defense, not drastically overhaul it. That's why it's a little dangerous to be on the outside looking in, see they hired the mad scientist and assume, "Great! We're gonna blitz on EVERY play." The Irish need more consistency from the defensive line and continued great play from their secondary in order to spring Tenuta's schemes with maximum efficiency. To be simply reachnig for the big red 'BLITZ' button on every down is probably going to wind up creating more problems as good offensive coaches, particularly ones in pass-oriented offenses, will diagnose that early and favor a quick-step passing game to counter. In the end, whatever gains the Irish defense make will be measured not by how they adjust to Tenuta, but how Tenuta adjusts to them.

#2 - Chemistry Set

Let's get it out of the way right off the bat: team chemistry is overrated. Or, to be more accurate, it's the ultimate 'chicken-or-the-egg' quandry; as in, "Which comes first?" Do you win because of your great team chemistry, lose because of bad, or do you only have great/bad team chemsitry because you lose? Well, like any chemistry problem, we should remember this is dependent on any number of elements that are all independent yet must fuse together in order to work properly. And in sport, the number one element in the hallowed "team chemistry" equation is winning.

Although a lot of people (self included) didn't want to accept it before last year started, 2007 had all the proper elements for a spontaneous combustion. Tons of young starters along with a huge void in the middle of the team (leadership & experience wise) left the Irish trying to construct a team as the season went along. Hardly a recipe for success, and soupled with a huge miscalculation on the part of Charlie Weis, things snowballed so badly that by the time October rolled around it wasn't a question over if Weis had lost the team. The issue was if he would ever be able to get it back.

The offseason storylines were mainly about what the head coach was doing to change, but some things have to come from within. That's why Weis went after his players early in camp, telling 'em point blank that at some point, 'I can't do it for ya', as if he were Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday. At the end of the day though, a large part of football, particularly in college, can be determined by who wants it more, who's willing to lay it down for his teammates the most. That's why losing seasons unravel ridiculously fast at the amateur level - in the pros everybody's playing for a paycheck, but in college you're mostly playing for pride, and each other. Last year's team never developed that unity, and a lack of cohesion from the head coach on down turned the tide from bad to worse.

So a big part of the direction the Irish travel in 2008 won't be decided with a playbook or a wristband or physical matchups - it'll be what kind of mental approach the team takes to the situations that challenge them. Last year there were moments when one bad play, such as in the Air Force game when a perfectly thrown ball and a 28-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage ended with a John Carlson fumble. Like many other moments, that first mistake was the equivalent of a retreat siren; hardly anybody was willing to take a stand and fight through it as a team. And it wasn't just the games against the Academies where the Irish seemed more than willing to roll over and quit, shrug off mistakes made as the equivalent of "Who cares, we would've lost anyway." That attitude cannot show up when they face adversity this season, and the prime counter to it will be that always elusive "chemistry" that comes from knowing the other 10 guys in the huddle have your back. This team needs to get to the point where the motivation isn't avoiding a lecture from Weis, it's staying away from the dreadful feeling that goes with knowing you let your teammates - your brothers - down.

So what is it - do you win because of great team chemistry, or have great team chemistry because you win? Let's tune in Saturday and start to find out.

"We'll never be anything but OK until that happens"

2008-09-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

Back to football for a moment - though we're going to have a follow-up commentary on the state of the Dillon Pep Rally before the weekend's over. But there's a game to be played and a mentality to be forged, and that brings us to rung #4 in our top 12 ladder...

#4 - Fire in the Belly

Right at the top of the list of Notre Dame Fan's Theses concerning the 2007 team was a detectable lack of emotion. I myself have trended more with Charlie Weis on this issue - the 'rah rah' stuff doesn't hold up past the first whistle; at that point it comes down to who's better prepared.

It wasn't very long ago that a certain mentally unhinged radio host decried his own team's collapse against the Irish in a fiercely emotional contest by noting that Notre Dame "played with fire, emotion, poise, and tact" (while Michigan State "sat there and CHOKED ON APPLESAUCE!"...never gets old). During 2007 though, the Irish were too often hit with the "tin soldiers" label in contrast to their looser, more fired-up opponents.

We've seen this card get played before, and it was interesting at the time because the man who threw it down was none other than Charlie Weis. Reflecting on reason's for why his team lost the home opener in 2005 (his Notre Dame Stadium debut), he reasoned that the team came out wound way too tight due to his efforts to insulate them from every little distraction that might pop up in the hoopla of Notre Dame home game. The next home date was one where he emphasized soaking up the attention and the spotlight, remembering that high-stakes moments were the reason they came to Notre Dame. That game, you might recall, was the USC game of October 15, 2005, arguably the finest and most inspired performance the Irish have mounted under Weis.

14 months later, after a relapse into his control freak tendencies of the NFL saw the Irish and their bunker-mentality get worked over by the hang-loose and party-down Ohio State Buckeyes, then watching his attempts to back pedal the Michigan rhetoric blow up badly in a 47-21 home loss, Weis again tried to cut loose and let the kids have some fun before the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The Irish made a game of it for a half, but went down 41-14. And in 2007, a young team seemed at times far more concerned with getting a Weis tounge-lashing than they were with the reality of the performance. The "emotion" of the college game had them playing in a constant house-of-cards mentality rather than geeking up for the Gipper.

The fact that Weis hasn't quite "nailed" the emotional pulse of his team isn't a total surprise, because it's something that can change from week to week, moved in large degree by the results - we want the Irish to exude some confident body language, but do we want them to be the kind of team where an offensive lineman celebrates landing a hit on a defensive back who just intercepted a pass? (As happened in USC's loss to Stanford last season...go ahead guess on which side) Emotion being spat out just because the head coach said, "Let's see some fire and intensity around here!" is probably more harmful than helpful.

Which is why the spring and fall has seen Weis seizing on those "teaching moments" he prefers to show when the right and wrong time to press the 'freak out' button is. It's why he printed up shirts and spread the philosophy of "Dive Right In". This year's Irish will probably be as flawed as thier most recent counterparts in some areas - one area they will not lack for is the burning desire to punch the other guy flush in the mouth. No more reacting, no more waiting on things to happen. As Weis pledged in his opening fall media session, "We're gonna find the 22 guys who are out there making stuff happen."

This could wind up being the single defining characteristic of Notre Dame football in 2008. Many message board posts have waxed poetic of the glory days when Lou Holtz and his boys would pick fights in tunnels, in contrast with an Irish squad that seemed content to roll over in the face of provocation last year (or perhaps be smart enough to walk away and avoid putting an already impotent offense in 3rd-and-30 with a personal foul penality). Whether this newfound emphasis on emotion after previously being so blase about it shows development or desperation on Weis' part, as some media types feel content to debate, wholly misses the point and shows how much they aren't paying attention. One of Charlie's key maxims is to not keep repeating something that's not working, and his business-is-business approach has been too hit or miss to stay on as a trustworthy blueprint.

And ultimately, it's the players and not Coach Weis who have to step up and take charge of their season, as he was quick to remind them during the opening week of camp. Remember that pressure field goal Weis had Brandon Walker take during the open practice in August? That "wild celebration" I alluded to wasn't good enough in Weis' eyes, to the point he made the team 'practice' the dog-pile after a game winning kick. He didn't sugarcoat why either (premium content alas, but one quote in particualr I think the Irish Illustrated guys wouldn't mind sharing):

When I pulled the 22 guys together in the huddle, I told them that sooner or later, you guys are going to have to take over the team. I told them we can never be great if emotion has to be coached. We’ll never be anything but okay until that happens.

A Sad Day

2008-09-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

We'll move on to football related business later tonight. First: news of a most disheartening nature came in from campus yesterday. From the student daily, The Observer:

Dillon Hall Rector Fr. Paul Doyle shocked residents Sunday when he announced the residence hall's pep rally, held every year before the first home football game of the season, was cancelled.

The pep rally, a series of skits mocking aspects of Notre Dame life, has been a Dillon Hall tradition since the late 1970s, lead pep rally scriptwriter Ryan O'Connor said.

Fr. Doyle cited two reasons for his decision.

"I failed to provide the necessary direction and support," he said.

The rector also told his residents the pep rally "was not coming together in a timely fashion."

Though this year's event is not intended be rescheduled, Fr. Doyle expressed his intent to hold a pep rally in the future.

"I hope we can have a pep rally next year that is the sort of pep rally the Dillon men and campus community have come to expect," he said.

Before Fr. Doyle broke the news of the pep rally's cancellation to the dormitory as a whole Sunday night, he had a private meeting with current Dillon Hall President, Brendan McQueeney.

"Fr. Doyle felt that he had not given us enough guidance," McQueeney said. "He said that he normally has a meeting with the Hall President at the end of the [previous] school year to get the ball rolling, which didn't happen."

There was a lot of miscommunication on both sides, McQueeney said.

After speaking to McQueeney, Fr. Doyle held a meeting in order to tell hall staff about the cancellation, O'Connor, a resident assistant, said.

The sudden decision surprised hall staff and scriptwriters, O'Connor said.

The students in charge of putting the pep rally together had been working since the spring and throughout the summer, O'Connor said. They were almost finished with the preparations when they heard the news.

"The script was already written," he said. "Tryouts were supposed to be that night. Everything was all set."

The scriptwriters had also already established several guests to speak and appear in skits, O'Connor said. "We had lined up Charlie Weis, Evan Sharpley and Jack Swarbrick, the new athletic director," he said.

Fr. Doyle personally called each of the guests to tell them about the cancellation, O'Connor said.

The news was frustrating to the students who had been working hard on the script, O'Connor said.

"Usually [the pep rally consists of] dumb, juvenile humor," he said. "But this year our object was to make it clever and intelligent without getting laughs at other people's expense."

Fr. Doyle had not read the script when he made the decision to cancel, O'Connor said.

O'Connor said he believes that the wheels were partly set in motion by problems with the pep rally t-shirt.

"Our t-shirt design was rejected by the Student Activities Office," he said.

The setback with the t-shirts seemed to show the rector that the event was not going to be ready in time, O'Connor said.

The explanations given by Fr. Doyle did not satisfy many students involved in the planning. He gave no further details regarding the decision to The Observer.

"He didn't have a very strong argument," contributing scriptwriter Evin Harpur said. "He said we weren't prepared, but any problems could have been remedied if we were made aware of them.

"We would have definitely been ready by Thursday, but Fr. Doyle is a good guy and would not have cancelled the show if there weren't a reason."

The sudden cancellation has led to much speculation among residents.

"I think there is a deeper issue," Harpur said. "I don't know if his hands are tied."

O'Connor said it seems the decision was made unilaterally, but "some are wondering if the orders came down to him" from somewhere else, O'Connor said.

After Fr. Doyle cancelled the pep rally, the writers and other residents tried to come up with alternative ways to put on event this season, McQueeney said.

Some suggested postponing the pep rally to the Thursday before the second home game versus Michigan, in order to have more preparation time and the writers offered to go back over the script and "clean up" the show, McQueeney said. By the time suggestions had been offered, however, the decision was final, he said.

For those of you who might not be familiar with it, a key theme of the dorm life at Notre Dame is each dorm's "signature event", a solo moment when they become the center of attention on campus. Prominent examples include the Fisher Regatta, Keenan Revue, The Alumni Wake, The Keough Chariot Race, Sorin's Fall Talent Show, Badin Breakdown, Pop Farley Week, Football 101 at Walsh Hall, Pangborn's Phox Fire...the list goes on. Every single one of these events is woven into the fabric of Notre Dame's residence life, something the University prides itself on - which it should. The residential community at Notre Dame is different than many other Universities, precisely because of these events which help unite and entertain the entire student body. It's the shared experiences of seeing Crackhead make a total fool of himself at each year's Dillon Pep Rally or watching cardboard boats sink every year in St. Joseph Lake at the Fisher Regatta that give real meaning to the phrase the University gladly shills out on t-shirts proclaiming that on this campus, "We Enter As Many, We Leave as One."

Which brings us to yesterday's out-of-the-blue announcement that Dillon Hall, without warning or notice of any kind, has seen it's traditional Pep Rally (which takes place on the Thursday night before the first home game) canceled due to what's been termed a lack of "necessary direction and support".

First things first: as all of us on the blog have a special place in our hearts for Dillon, and three of us served as resident assistants with Father Doyle, let us be very clear on one thing: we trust his judgment. If he felt the rally was falling badly behind schedule and harmed beyond repair logistically, we believe him. What we find very troubling is how the decision was dropped on the Men of Dillon without warning and with absolute finality, despite offers from our fellow Dillonites to perform their due diligence in order to pull the rally off on another weekend.

Furthermore, the timing and half-explained decision gives us pause since the organization and logistics of the Dillon Rally have long been an exercise in controlled chaos; it is, after all, an event which needs to come together very quickly, often smack in the middle of move-in week and the start of class. Three years ago there was an exception for this as the organizers had three full weeks to prepare (and the Rally got shortened by rain anyway), since the Irish home opener did not occur until September 17th. Last year's rally had to be ready, and was, before the end of the first week of school due to a September 1st opener. How was it that this year's organizers had time to write a script, announce auditions, and arrange for appearances by the head coach and new athletic director yet somehow weren't putting the event together in a timely fashion? To hear that this year the hurried nature of plotting the rally became an insurmountable obstacle strikes us as logic conveniently propped up without much explanation in order to mask somebody else's agenda.

Anybody who has seen previous Dillon Pep Rallys knows the event has a long history of speaking truth to power, from targeting the Vagina Monologues controversy - a skit Father Doyle participated in - to other "sacred cows" of the campus like Mr. Dining Hall Food Stealer Watcher. The humor might strike some as "sophomoric", but it is not demeaning. The primary goal of the event is to formally induct the Dillon freshman into the community and to get the campus at large pumped up for the season in a way that includes no roof-raising, Monk Malloy-approved 'skits', or canned speeches made solely for the enlightenment of tourists and visiting alumni. Here is Charlie himself speaking at the '06 edition of the Rally. Note how he specifically praises a pep rally being put on by students, for students:

Additionally, here is Notre Dame-sanctioned coverage of last year's Rally extolling the virtues of the event:

Again, let us state that it is not the decision made by Father Doyle to cancel the rally's planned performance on September 4th with which we take issue. We have no reason to doubt him if he says there was too much commotion in order for an effective performance on that date. What we find very upsetting is how this decision has apparently given way to an out-and-out cancellation of the rally this year, in spite of the willingness of Dillon Hall's upperclassmen to take whatever actions were necessary to put the DPR back where it belongs - front and center on South Quad as a true example of what it means to belong to the community of Notre Dame. Knowing how much the rally has meant to Dillon Hall, its residents, and Father Doyle gives us a strong suspicion that the decision to put the Pep Rally on ice for the year (with only the "hope" that it will return next year as the kind of rally Dillon and the community have come to expect) is a result of somebody inside the Main Building taking issue with a joke in the script or the planned t-shirt and once again hitting the PC panic button. Even though we fully acknowledge that we do not have all the facts, it appears to us that this is another in a long chain of actions taken by ResLife and Student Activities to reign in and dumb-down things that once made Notre Dame special, lest anybody find it offensive or uncomfortable.

Previous skits and performances at the Rally may have gone overboard, and we would probably agree that at times the rally drags on without end and without much actual humor. But when examining it versus the over-rehearsed, over-killed "raising of the roof" which requires tickets at the JACC on Fridays, there is little question which event captures the true spirit and enthusiasm of the Notre Dame student body as football season gets underway. There is also no question that at least until Sunday the University was proud to market Dillon Hall's annual Pep Rally as a unique part of the Notre Dame spirit. What happened to change that apparently is something that nobody in the administration wants known, in all likelihood because they know it will be exposed as the flimsy, hyper-sensitive display of hand wringing that it probably is.

As of this posting (9/3/08, 2:15 PM Pacific time), there has been no indication that any further explanation of why the Pep Rally was canceled will be forthcoming. Additionally, we'd like to note that other Signature Events within the dorm system at Notre Dame have seen their activities neutered over the course of the past few years, so in that context the DPR can merely be seen as the latest victim. What we'd like from any and all fans of the Irish out there, as well as the readers of this blog (all 7 of them) is for you to leave some notes of encouragement in the comments section of this post that we can forward on to the current leaders of Dillon Hall, letting them know we are behind them and to hope they will find some way to keep the Pep Rally alive this year, perhaps at an off-campus location ala the Keenan Revue. Not to steer off into a poltically charged comment or come across as somebody making a mountain out of a molehill, but it really [bleep]in' angers me that the University makes the time and effort to protect the Vagina Monologues but sweeps aside an event that's become so ingrained in not just the Dillon Hall, but Notre Dame, experience. Please take time to leave a comment.

You'll Rue the Day You Crossed Me Blogger

2008-09-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

We received not one but two - TWO! - emails asking what happened to the countdown. My reaction was, "Wait a minute, we've got readers?" Next, "What do you mean what happened?" Turns out Blogger was archiving the last four days of posts and never actually published the blog since last Thursday...so all those past stories are up now, a little late but better than never. We move now into the Top 5.

Having attended last night's UCLA-Tennessee contest with Paul (and having been true LA 'fans' and skipped out after than Volunteer touchdown late in the 4th quarter, missing the end of the game and overtime), I cannot stress the importance of this one enough:

#5 - Kick it To Me Straight

In Wedding Crashers, Rule #76 is "No Excuses, Play Like a Champion." The second half of this sentiment is already well represented inside the Notre Dame locker room, but it is time for the first to be surgically attached to the kicking and coverage units as well as their co-leaders, Charlie Weis and Brian Polian.

Weis started his coaching career as a special teams mind. He'd been on the job at Notre Dame less than 30 minutes when he said his initial impression of the 2004 team was that their special teams play "stunk". He preached how quick improvement in the "third phase" was usually the easiest path to a quick team turnaround. He got players who'd become disaffected and buried on the depth chart to buy into the idea that special teams work can win a game or two every year.

And yet he somehow couldn't muster enough confidence or moxie to find anyone on the roster able to attempt a 41-yard field goal against Navy.

Questionable kick decisions aside, the Irish special teams in the past two years have taken a noticeable downturn. The explosiveness is gone from the return unit, kickoff and punt coverage has been middling to poor, and all of it exacerbated by the fact that despite having two scholarship kickers, the Irish did not once put the ball into the endzone for a touchback last season (in their defense though, that lack of scoring on offense afforded few attempts). Criticized as he was for not sending then-freshman Brandon Walker out to win the game versus the Midshipmen, could you really blame Weis for having doubts about a guy who was 6 for 12, and an even more dubious 1 for 7 on kicks longer than 30 yards?

Rather than shrug off his problem, Weis elected to face it head on, admitting during Februrary's signing day press meeting, "I screwed [special teams] up." And as the meeting between the Bruins and Vols last night showed, do not write off the kicker and punter as purely disposable parts. UCLA turned a blocked punt into 7 points, then relied on four missed field goals in closing out UT 27-24 in overtime. Oh, what might have been had Fulmer's boys taken care of business on special teams.

So what evidence do we have that things will markedly improve for the Irish this year? Let's focus on kicking. Walker is settled for field goals and extra points, while junior Ryan Burkhart handles kickoff duties. A lot of anecdotal evidence has littered the practice reports about improved leg strength and accuracy, particularly from Walker, as cause for hope. Weis also made a point of heaping some pressure on the sophomore early in camp with practice-ending kicks that would either free the Irish (with a make) or earn the whole team extra sprints (via miss). Walker made it, sending his teammates on a wild celebration that hopefully will be repeated at some point this season. Right now, like many other elements, the strength of the Irish kicking game is an unknown commodity. It needs to become known in a very, very short span of time - because while hope springs eternal before the season, the Irish do not have much margin for error. Such teams often find their fortunes turned on the foot of their kicker.