SB Nation - James Aldridge

University of Southern California Trojans at University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish: The Preview

CW — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:00:42 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

2 months ago: In this photo made Oct. 3, 2009, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, left, celebrates a touchdown against Washington during an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind. Clausen isn't the same quarterback who walked out of the Los Angeles Coliseum seven games ago following USC's 38-3 win over Notre Dame that he describes as the toughest loss of his life. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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This game needs little introduction. It is perhaps the greatest rivalry in college sports, with no conference affiliation or in-state feud to sustain it, just a quest for continued excellence and national titles on both sides. The fact the rivalry has lost some of its luster in recent years also needs little explanation as, save for one fantastic game in 2005, the Irish have been little more than a speed bump for the Trojans as they roll to top five finish after top five finish. If Charlie Weis and Jimmy Clausen want their Notre Dame careers to take the next step, they need to win this game. Considering how the last few games have gone (the Irish haven't scored a touchdown in two years during two rather humiliating contests), there is some work to do.

Irish Defense vs. Trojan Offense

Clausen vs. Pete Carroll's defense gets all the headlines, so let's start on the other side, with Matt Barkley squaring off against Jon Tenuta's defense. Barkley beat out Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain to become starting quarterback out of camp and is undefeated in that role, but the offense revolves around a meat grinder of a running game, with five monsters blowing giant holes in the defense for a variety of tailbacks. With Stafon Johnson still recovering from that awful throat injury, all-world recruit Joe McKnight is the featured back, a dazzling player more than capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. McKnight is the consummate home run hitter, and helping to clear the way is one of the bigger x-factors in the game, Stanley Havili. There are few fullbacks in the country that are capable of taking out a middle linebacker on one play and splitting out to wide receiver and catching a fifty-one yard fly route on another like Havili did against Cal. Allen Bradford will spell McKnight, and depending on CJ Gable's health, you may see him or Marc Tyler get a few touches over the course of the afternoon. With Anthony McCoy a capable blocker and pass-catcher at tight end, the Irish will have to be wary of the passing game even when Southern Cal goes to a power running formation.

The aptitude of the Trojan running game raises an interesting question: Do you sell out to stop the run, loading up the box and sending in a variety of run blitzes, or do you respect Barkley's arm? Notre Dame Stadium was as loud as any venue in the world in 2005, but I'm not sure how rattled Barkley will be after leading a fourth quarter comeback in the Horseshoe. He hasn't been asked to do a whole lot, but he's been absurdly competent and has the arm to make any throw the Trojans ask of him. If the Irish front seven can't at least put a dent in the Trojan rushing attack, then there isn't much of a chance of slowing this offense. If there are eight or nine in the box, Barkley is going to play action and find Williams, or the returning Ronald Johnson, or McKnight, or Havili, or one of the talented tight ends. I wish it were more complicated than that, but I don't think Barkley is going to lose this game for the Trojans if the Irish drop it into his lap. Perhaps that's a strategy you have to try, but I don't think it will end well.

If the Irish can limit big plays - a tall task against an offense like USC possesses - there's a chance the Trojans shoot themselves in the foot trying to string together long drives. They have been awful on third downs, not particularly disciplined when it comes to penalties and have a penchant for putting the ball on the ground (which is one reason Washington pulled off the upset, along with Barkley and Taylor Mays missing the game).

This Irish defense has had issues, yes - that's perhaps the understatement of the season - but there have been flashing moments of brilliance. A good Purdue offense was held scoreless for nearly three quarters. Washington's offense only mustered three first half points after their opening drive. There have been massive breakdowns at horrible times, yes, but this team has the potential - the coaching, the recruits, the motivation, the home crowd - to stop the Trojans. It will take everyone playing at their peak, but the Trojans have been slowed before, and this Irish defense has stood up to some talented offenses when need be. If they don't wrap up the speed merchants who are going to be getting the ball most of the game, be prepared for another game like 2008, or 2007, or 2003, or 2004...

Irish Offense vs. Trojan Defense

When it's strength versus strength - Weis' offense versus Carroll's defense- something will have to give. As I wrote about earlier in the week, neither team has played a unit anywhere near the caliber of the one they'll be facing off against tomorrow. A lot of Irish fans seem to want to establish the run first, but lining up in the I-formation and pounding the Trojans might resemble a suicide mission. Their defensive line is deep and talented, and their linebackers can cover ground on anything going outside. When the Irish run, it seems like a fine idea to keep the Trojans spread out with three or four wide and use the strength of the Notre Dame offensive line - Robinson, Olsen and Stewart - to pop some draws up the middle. If the Trojan front isn't as formidable as it seems (and it seems awfully damn formidable), then adjust and take a few more cracks at them. However, I have no desire to start the game with an I-formation and a two yard loss just so some fans get their fullback fix. (That being said, welcome back, James Aldridge. We need all hands on deck for this.)

Jimmy Clausen is the best player on the team, and while the Irish need balance, they're also going to need a Herculean effort from their QB1. We can pine about how this game would be different with Michael Floyd, but he's a few weeks from returning and Clausen will just have to make do with the tremendous talent remaining at the skill positions. Golden Tate will draw a lot of attention from the Trojan defense, but Weis has been playing a shell game with him since Floyd's injury, and I don't see him suddenly making it easy to bracket his main playmaker. Kyle Rudolph will face some athletes who are more than capable of matching up with him, but he's already shown he can come through when it matters. My primary concern is the continued lack of a definite answer at the second wide receiver position. Whether it's a consistent rotation or one standout performer, someone is going to need to give Clausen somewhere to go when Mays is blanketing Rudolph and a double team has latched onto Golden.

The Trojan pass rush is among the best in the nation, and if Paul Duncan and Sam Young don't seal the edges to protect their quarterback, this offense is going to look like it did in the lights of the Coliseum last year. If I were Weis, I would lean on the no-huddle spread. Not a hurry-up, but simply getting to the line in an effort to limit USC's substitutions, which will in turn limit the effectiveness of that tremendous defensive line depth. Quick drops, quick reads and keep them guessing. Toss in some pro formation and wildcat to keep things interesting, but the Weis offense has always been at its best when it's spread out, in a rhythm and keeping the defense off balance. This will obviously be impossible if there are a flurry of false start and illegal motion penalties, so it would be nice if those were at a minimum.

The Trojan defense hasn't given up a passing touchdown all season and Mays gives the cornerbacks an ability to press up and take chances, but if Clausen can't effectively move the ball through air, the Irish have little chance. He'll need some help from his running backs, but the biggest match-up on the field is how Clausen deals with the pressure, reads Carroll's coverage and finds the correct option. He was 11 for 22 for 41 yards and two interceptions last year, but that Jimmy is long gone. The 2009 Jimmy Clausen is up for this challenge, and I think he'll respond well to it.

Inane ramblings and a vague prediction

Over the past five years, I think I've been respectful of - perhaps even deferential to - the Trojans. They've been the class of college football in the 21st century, continually finishing at the top of the polls and one amazing Vince Young performance away from seven straight Orange/Rose Bowl wins, with victories in Lincoln, Columbus, Auburn, South Bend, Fayetteville, Charlottesville and Landover (against Virginia Tech) thrown in just for fun. I almost never feel good about an Irish game going into it, and especially not against the Trojans, but I find myself oddly at peace about this clash. (There's a very good chance that I've just accepted the fact that if Notre Dame loses this game, the majority of Irish literature I read daily on the internet will become unbearable. As you read on, do not discount this fact that I'm just looking at this whole thing through shamrock-colored glasses because I've experienced the alternative and it's too unbearable to contemplate.)

As I've stated all week, these men of Troy do not jump off the screen at you like some of their past versions. They are obviously dripping with talent, but it's raw, and it's beatable. Washington already knocked them off. Ohio State was very close. The rest of their opponents were either tin cans or a Cal team that was still trying to get its torso back in order after Oregon had ripped its heart out the week prior. People are correct to say this is a giant test for the Irish, but they're downplaying what it means to the Trojans. It won't have any effect on their Rose Bowl chances - the trip to Autzen on Halloween will most likely decide that - but as far as national championships go, there are no more toe stubbings available for the men of Troy.

Of course, Notre Dame and Charlie Weis have considerably more to prove, as there are still plenty of questions after dodging raindrops to a 4-1 open to the season. The Irish lost to the only team with a winning record they've played, and barely survived against a slate of mid-tier Big and Pac Ten teams. But every game, they show off something new that gives fans a little bit of hope. Against Michigan, it was finding two key touchdowns and a necessary pick to rally from an eleven point fourth quarter deficit. Against Michigan State, it was recovering from the loss of their best weapon on offense and another fourth quarter hole in front of a home crowd that was more anxious than supportive. The next week it was domination that slipped away due to a couple poor defensive possessions, but Clausen-to-Rudolph fixed everything. Then there was goal line stand after goal line stand against Washington, the reemergence of Robert Hughes, the ridiculous production of Golden Tate, and again, Clausen-to-Rudolph.

Everyone wanted this team to just be great from the word go in September, but teams usually can't just flick a switch. You have to learn greatness, and more importantly, earn it. This squad bottomed out in November of 2008, with the losses to Pitt, Boston College, Syracuse and Southern Cal. Perhaps it was in Hawaii, or the practices in the cold of the South Bend winter before, that made them look like a completely different team as they mauled the Rainbow Warriors. It's a look in the eye that hasn't faded since. They kicked the crap out of Nevada, punched Michigan in the mouth repeatedly with Armando Allen, then showed tremendous guts in three straight games where lesser teams would have just said "You know what? We're losing. We'll put it together and go get them next week." The offense is a well-oiled machine, led by the best passer in the country who has a support system that has him in ideal conditions to earn that rating. The defense has the horses to slow up Troy, and for the first time in a few years, there's a placekicker that inspires confidence when he walks onto the field

Then you have the intangibles, and the mounting frustration of being on the wrong side of a beat down every season. There's a west coast quarterback who could have followed in the path of two recent Heisman winners in his own backyard but didn't, and has gotten his ass handed to him the last two years for that decision. There's a freshman receiver playing against his hometown school who wants to show them that he also made the right choice, and a freshman linebacker who'd love nothing more than the same thing. No matter how long these guys have been on this team - three months or going on five years - they've never beaten USC. Most of them have never even been close, and for the few fifth year seniors who started to storm the field like the rest of us in 2005, they have to have a burning desire to just take back control of this series and get the respect they want.

Since the dazzling 2005 offense moved on, games like the Rose Bowl against Penn State where the Trojans storm out to a giant lead are the exception, not the rule. The way USC wins is by slowly grinding you, continually throwing haymakers on both sides of the ball until you just break down and end up on the other side of a three touchdown loss. Normally it's a touchdown here and a field goal there and next thing you know some freak tailback is taking a wheel route seventy yards for a score and you immediately realize there's no way your favorite is coming back. They have the swagger and the confidence that no matter what the situation is, they'll make a play and win because hey, they're USC. For the first time in a long while, Notre Dame has a little bit of that same confidence. It's not a confidence where they can slip n' slide on the sideline four days before a giant rivalry game, but it's growing. There is no doubt that the Irish have to play great to win, and they will need some breaks and a little bit of luck along the way. But - and this is a little different from the past few seasons - they have shown over the last six games that greatness is attainable. Maybe it's not there consistently yet, but the flickers are there.

If USC has any lapses, like trailing 3-0 against San Jose State after the first fifteen minutes, Notre Dame will have points on the board. They have to have points on the board after the first quarter. They need touchdowns, not field goals, and need to continue the trend of doing a relatively good job of protecting both the ball and their quarterback. The numbers tell you the USC defense is good, and I don't doubt that it can consistently deal out some pain, but they have not had to deal with a quarterback like Clausen yet. (Locker is good, but he's still learning Sarkisian's system and hiccups were inevitable, like at Stanford. Pryor is still a mess and Riley looked like a deer in the headlights from his initial drive-ending pick on.) If the Trojans can't slow down the Irish, then the pressure goes onto Barkley. He's been calm, cool and collected up until this point, but he's also been either been out in front or in low-scoring slugfests in his other four starts. How will he respond to a shootout, on the road, in front of a crowd that's ready to burst with another chance like 2005? (Probably pretty well, but it's a potential factor that could lean towards the Irish.)

I loathe making predictions and have no idea how things will go Saturday, but all I can say, for really the first time this season and for the first time in years against Southern Cal, is that I like our chances. I will most likely end up eating these words come darkness tomorrow, but for now, I am at peace. Backs are against the wall, echoes are awakened and there are seven years of pent-up frustration that need to be released at some point.

October 17th around 3:30pm seems like as good as time as any to begin.

Go Irish, Beat Trojans.

Raking the Muck: Irish Infirmary

CW — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:01:01 -0000

More photos » by TONY DING - AP

2 months ago: FILE -- This is a Sept. 12, 2009, file photo showing Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen (7) pacing the sidelines in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game with Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Coach Charlie Weis is expected to discuss the health of quarterback Jimmy Clausen and other problems facing the Irish heading into their annual game against Purdue.(AP Photo/Tony Ding, File)

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The Fighting Irish aren't exactly the healthiest bunch heading into Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday night, as many of those responsible for the offense's great successes so far this season are far from models of perfect health. In a sort of ascending order of games to be missed:

Armando Allen (sprained right ankle): Missed some practice, but should be ready to go Saturday night with little difficulty. I didn't notice any discernable limp during Saturday's game, but there will be some nicks incurred over the course of getting crashed into by a bunch of large, focused men twenty-plus times a game.

Jimmy Clausen (turf toe): The MRI Sunday came back negative, but Clausen might still be sporting the noticable limp he had for most of the Michigan State game. Despite losing his top target before the half, Number Seven still played great on one leg in the second half against Michigan State. Purdue only has four sacks on the season and the Irish offensive line has been great in protecting their signal caller, but Clausen's lack of mobility could be cause for concern if Boilers decide they want to turn up the pressure.

James Aldridge (shoulder): The starting fullback at the beginning of the season isn't going to be back until the Southern Cal game at the earliest. With Aldridge out, the fullback position has slowly faded away, utilized a few times against Michigan and barely at all against Michigan State, as the Spartans insisted on attempting to cover the Irish spread out of their base 4-3. The offense has kept humming along after Aldridge went down, but it'll be good to have the big guy back for the stretch run.

Michael Floyd (collarbone/hearts of a lonely Irish nation): Gone for entirety of the regular season, potentially returning for a bowl game depending on his progress, if the Irish make one and when it would be. Two months seems like a reasonable prognostication, but Weis has said there's no chance he rushes the star wideout back. Floyd could apply for a medical redshirt if he skipped the bowl game, but it seems unlikely St. Michael would stay for his senior season, let alone a fifth year.

A couple fun facts from Eric Hansen:

Saturday's game against Notre Dame will be the sixth night game in the 86-year history of Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermakers are 1-5 under the lights at home, including a loss to Notre Dame in 2005.
Notre Dame is averaging as many yards per game in penalties (69.7) as Purdue has amassed in three games this season combined (69).

What are the odds that at some point Saturday we're seeing Dayne Crist throwing to Shaq Evans on a semi-crucial possession, and not just in mop-up time? If the Boilermakers keep scoring and Jimmy's foot can't hold out, Crist might get thrust very quickly ino a nationally televised spotlight. If so, he'll be doing it front of one of my favorite play-by-play guys and everyone's favorite sideline princess, as Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews will be in West Lafayette for the game. (For as gruesomely entertaining as Blackledge's "Tastes of the Town" segments are, he loses points for his hilariously awful argument for a plus-one system last season.)

via www.sidelinehotties.com

For anyone thinking that Southern Cal's loss at Washington bodes well for the Irish, please note that the Trojans still managed nearly eight yards a carry. Plus, the Irish always tend to fall into a Big Game category for USC and never have the luxury of being an unranked PAC-10 opponent. We'll get two more great looks at Pete Carroll's team before the October 17th showdown, both against very good (California in Berkeley on homecoming, in Jahvid Best's potential Heisman statement game) and not so great (the Washington State Cougars, who finally mustered a victory last weekend but now travel to Troy on Saturday). Both Notre Dame and Southern Cal have a bye week on October 10th to prepare for the greatest cross-sectional rivalry in college sports.

And speaking of future Irish opponents, a tender moment for the Hurt Locker following Saturday's upset, courtesy of Bill Simmons' Twittert:

via seattletimes.nwsource.com

Conversations with the Enemy: Talking Notre Dame with Inside the Irish

LVS — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:51:46 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

None of this, plz.

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Keith Arnold, who writes NBC Sports' excellent Inside the Irish blog, was good enough to trade questions with us about Saturday's game. He'll be hosting a live chat on during the game on Saturday at NBCSports.com, which should be an excellent place to gloat once Blair White catches his sixth touchdown pass of the day.

Part one is over on his site. Below, I'm in bold:

Notre Dame's defense was praised widely after shutting out a good Nevada offense in week one. Then, they appeared to substantially regress by allowing 430 yards against Michigan. Briefly, what went wrong last week, and, going forward, how confident are you about the Irish defense?

Ah... sample size? I didn't think Notre Dame's defense was good enough to pitch a shutout against a good offensive team in Nevada, but I don't think they were necessarily as bad as the 34 points and 430 yards that Michigan put up.

As much as it hurts me to admit it, I was really impressed with Tate Forcier, and I've got a feeling I'm going to just despise that kid as a player by the time he's out of college. (He and Matt Barkley are on unparalleled trajectories right now, and they've only played two games and we've already got SportsCenter debating which quarterback is better. Like it's a grade school coloring contest or something...)

Anyway, what went wrong last week was something pretty evident to Weis, Tenuta, and Corwin Brown after watching the tape, and they're pretty confident that they've made the schematic changes necessary to fix it. What my eyes saw was ineffective blitzing, a mobile quarterback that got some of Notre Dame's bigs out in uncomfortable space, and an inability to get pressure on the quarterback with the front four. While the secondary certainly didn't have its best game, covering a receiver when the quarterback breaks the pocket is tough for just about anyone.

Related: unlike in previous years, the current MSU offense will probably get the significant majority of its yards through the air. How do you think the Irish secondary matches up with our wide receivers?

I really like (or did before the Michigan game) the Irish secondary. This is as talented a group as Notre Dame has had in the secondary since the Lou Holtz era. We've got two athletic starting safeties, three legit cover corners, and Sergio Brown is a great player that basically starts in nickel sets. I haven't watched a ton of tape on the Spartan wideouts, but again, I think the secondary is only going to look as good as the Irish pass rush allows it.

(More, after the jump.)

Michael Floyd is one of the country's top wide receivers; had it not been for his late injury, it seems to me that Notre Dame would have won in Ann Arbor. If he's not 100% on Saturday, how devastating would that be for the Irish, and how well do you think the offense would adapt?

I don't think people realize just how good a player Mister Michael Floyd really is. You might not find a bigger admitted Floyd homer in the country than me, because I've been touting this kid since I saw him on the freshman football field at my high school alma mater. From what Weis has said, Floyd's going to be 100 percent, and if you want to see how he looked at practice Tuesday, you can see it for yourself.

But a quick word on Floyd. He could've gone for 200 against Michigan. He made those defensive backs look just terrible, and the only reason I think Clausen just played "okay" (25-42, 336 yards, 3 TDs 0 INTs) is that he left a ton of yardage on the field by leading Floyd out of bounds. The kid can leap over every guy Michigan has in its secondary! Don't throw it out of bounds! I expect Floyd to absolutely light up every team he faces this year, and be an early first rounder after next year. He's a special player and a really good kid who has worked for everything he's gotten.

Now that I'm done pumping his tires, Floyd going down against Michigan was a seismic shift in the football game. I'm on record saying that I've got no problem with throwing the ball on 2nd and 3rd down on that last offensive drive, but when you've got 3rd and Game in the Big House, and you throw it to Shaq Evans, a true freshman in his 2nd game in an Irish uniform, you know Floyd being out is a big deal. But to support your hypothetical, if Floyd isn't 100 percent, the Irish will at least be in a much better place than they were last year when he was injured, because offensive line coach Frank Verducci looks to have done wonders with the offensive line and running game.

Central Michigan had enormous success running a spread-option attack against MSU. Do you think Charlie Weis will incorporate some non-traditional formations this week, or do you expect mostly the pro-style sets we're accustomed to seeing from Notre Dame?

Weis has been toying with the Wildcat, but I think for the most part, it's going to be the same exotic pro package that Weis has run these first two games. (I don't really count the past two seasons of offense as the "Weis offense" because he was max protecting or trying to do anything he could to prop up his offensive line.)

That said, while it's certainly a disappointing loss for you guys, Dan LeFevour is better than most quarterbacks in the Big Ten, and probably the best one on the field last week. (Note: I'm still incredibly bitter that I listened to some guy I met in the sportsbook in Vegas last weekend and took the Spartans to cover, so I might be biased.)

We all know that Notre Dame's offensive line is vastly experienced, though they've been much maligned over the past few years. How would you assess their play in the first two games? I see that they allowed no sacks against a good Michigan defensive line.

It's tough to say anything bad about what the offensive line has done in these two games. The goose egg on sacks is nice, but more importantly, the semi-finesse running game that Weis depends on in his offense looked really good. The last two seasons it's been impossible to run stretches and other outside reach plays that the offensive line just couldn't run. And while left tackle Paul Duncan has been decent, right tackle Sam Young has looked like a beast, and even though he got called for a phantom holding call in Ann Arbor, has played to the potential everybody thought he had.

Darryl Stonum returned a kickoff for a touchdown against the Irish last week, and Michigan State has a kickoff returner, Glenn Winston, who has been explosive at times. Do you view special teams as a concern, or do you consider that an isolated incident? Relatedly, how is Notre Dame's kicking game this year?

I think (hope) that the kickoff return was an isolated incident. Stonum's return was a huge turning point in the game, and Leonard Gordon looked like a matador out there on that return, ole-ing the tackle when he had Stonum in his crosshairs inside the Wolverine's 40. I'm waiting for Golden Tate to make a big punt return, and Theo Riddick, a pretty talented freshman is back as the deep man on the kickoffs. And don't sleep on Barry Gallup, who is only back deep on kickoffs because James Aldridge is hurt. He had an awesome game last week, taking back two kicks to around midfield.

Eric Maust has really stunk punting the ball during these two games, and his shank at the end of the Michigan game is getting forgotten by the angry mob of Irish fans looking to assign blame. True freshman kicker Nick Tausch also block/fade/pushed/shanked his first field goal attempt in a real college football game, a 28-yarder against Michigan, but rallied back to make two others. And if your kickers want to fight our kickers, just remember that freshman punter Ben Turk can bench 225 twenty-six times. That dude is yoked.

Obviously, last week was a crushing loss for the Irish, and many people are saying that Charlie Weis is running out of chances in South Bend. However, ND's remaining schedule is favorable, to say the least, and even if the Irish lose on Saturday, it's not ridiculous to expect an 8 or 9 win season. In your opinion, how important is this game for Notre Dame and its coach?

This could be one of the biggest games in Weis' tenure at Notre Dame. He's absolutely got to get the Irish out quickly, and keep everybody's psyche in line. Notre Dame's worst enemy is themselves. If they can go out and start by playing smart football, limit turnovers, get off the field on 3rd down on defense, I think the guys will be fine. But if they get off to a slow start, the demons will start creeping into everybody's head pretty quickly.

Weis knows he absolutely needs this game, and I think the players know that, too. Reading the chatrooms, comments, and the dozens of emails I got from Notre Dame fans after the loss, it's pretty obvious that it didn't take much to get all the negativity that was bubbling beneath the surface to reappear. And as much as Spartan fans think Notre Dame fans are entitled, arrogant idiots, you should see and hear what they write when they're chatting amongst themselves. The second guessing and negativity is insufferable, and if the Irish lose to another team that's perceived to be weaker than they are, then I'm sure the vultures will start swirling.

But for all the chatter about a weak schedule, if ND loses, the heat gets ratcheted up on every game they play for the rest of the season. Purdue? Scary -- played Oregon tough last week. Washington? Scary -- played LSU tough. USC -- wouldn't bet on us. BC -- owned ND lately. Navy, took Ohio State to the limit. Pitt, UConn, Stanford... every one of those teams could take ND out if they slipped up, and will if the Irish aren't careful. All this schedule talk sounds good in the preseason, but I honestly don't think it's a cakewalk from here out. That said, if the Irish win Saturday, I'm still penciling them in for 10 wins.

Thanks, Keith. I hope your team crashes and burns!

Weis: James Aldridge Out, Robert Hughes In At Fullback Against Michigan

CW — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:28:05 -0000

by Joe Raymond - AP

8 months ago: Notre Dame running back Robert Hughes breaks a tackle during the Blue Gold football game on Saturday April 18, 2009 in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

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Per Brian Hamilton's informative tweeting from Weis' presser, James Aldridge is out this week and doubtful for the Spartans with the shoulder injury he sustained in the opener. Robert Hughes, who had been surpassed on the halfback depthchart by sophomore Jonas Gray, will start in his play. Hughes has the size to be effective in the role and it's not like the coaching staff didn't just decide "Hey James, you're a fullback now," so this shouldn't be a difficult transition. Still, Aldridge got reps in the role for the entirety of fall practice, so there may be a learning curve for young Robert.

Also of note, Barry Gallup, Jr., will be returning kicks with freshman Theo Riddick in Aldridge's absence. The only bad thing about the shutout Saturday was that Riddick didn't get more chances with the return unit, but hopefully the Irish just keep shutting people out so we don't have to worry about muffed kickoff returns or poor decisions on whether to take a touchback or not.

Formidable Opponent: The Dichotomy of a Notre Dame Fan

CW — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:33:12 -0000

For some godless reason, football seems particularly far away this year. Because of this, fans of every team have way too much time to talk themselves into - and out of - their favorite's prospects this season. The following is a typical conversation that goes on in the mind of a Notre Dame football fan as they get ready for the opener on September 5.

Hey there, how excited are you for Notre Dame football?! Just over a week away!

You seem pretty excited considering how many times the Irish have ripped our heart out over the last few years.

Oh, but this year is going to be different!

We've heard that before. Why, exactly, is this year going to be different?

There's a ton of reasons! 18 returning starters, including Jimmy Clausen going into his junior season. Do you remember Brady's junior year? Golden Tate and Michael Floyd will make great replacements for The Shark and MoSto, and God bless D-Walk, but we've got running backs that can get to the second level in the blink of an eye. All those craters Ty Willingham left in the depth chart have been smoothed over with four-star VHTs, and we've got competition going on in fall practice, not just the handing out of spots because we don't have anyone better to take them.

Oh, that is a pretty good reason, I guess. Did Notre Dame get a lot of different starters at some point, because most of those eighteen gentlemen were involved in getting shut out by Boston College, losing to Syracuse at home and barely getting a first down against Southern Cal. I'd hope so, because you seem pretty confident considering how awful we were for the entirety of November.

A year older and a year wiser! Plus we've shuffled the offensive line and brought in a new coach for the hog-mollies, and Michael Floyd - maybe our best player - wasn't even playing in those later games. When you think about it, this was really a nine-win team that had some bad luck, so getting to double digit wins isn't that big of a leap. We could have easily won against Pitt, Syracuse and North Carolina-

Woah, hold on there. Bad luck? Or a lack of execution and conditioning down the stretch? What about the fact we should have lost to San Diego State in week one? Do you remember that, or did all of the drinking block it out? Or the fact Stanford was too close for comfort at the end, as well as Navy? It's not luck when you consistently put up sub-par efforts in the fourth quarter, it's just who you are.

Again, though, everyone has another year of experience, practice reps and body building! The team is deeper, faster, better and more talented across the board. Plus Coach Weis has been learning, too. You keep forgetting he had never been a head coach or coordinator in college before, so there were a lot of first-time mistakes to have to correct. He's done a great job this preseason of just keeping his mouth shut, and I really think the Hawai'I Bowl might have been a giant step in learning how to utilize all of these guys. Ethan Johnson and Darius Fleming getting after the QB while Jimmy bombs away to Golden, Michael and Kyle. It's as simple as that.

I'll believe in Charlie Weis' schematic advantage when I see it in place against an opponent that wasn't a .500 team in the WAC. Boston College was a fine team last year, but we made them look like the '85 Bears. I know the schedule isn't exactly stacked this year, but there are still a bunch of losable games. Want to look at some clips of Colin Kaepernick? Or how about the fact that Rich Rodriguez's teams take a leap in Year Two, and the game is in Ann Arbor? Or that we haven't beaten Michigan State at home this decade? Or that a reloading Southern Cal team is still a top four team? Or that you don't want to play Diamond Dave Wannstedt on the road when you're supposed to win? You're seeing an easy path to the BCS, I see a lot of potential toe-stubbings early followed by a couple drops along the way that put us around 7-5. At that point, Charlie isn't going to have a lot of time to learn on the Irish sideline.

Listen, there is no way we're losing to Nevada, their defense is horrible and we can just bomb away all we want. And Michigan still sucks, who is their starting quarterback going to be, a freshman or a walk-on who can't throw the ball? Michigan State, Boston College and Southern Cal are all having down years and we get them all at home, and the next time I'm worried about playing Dave Wannstedt will be the first, last year was just a fluke, and the only reason they won is wading through PETA protestors to get into the locker room in Philadelphia. We're going to be favored in nearly every game, we're going to have more talent in nearly every game and we're going to have more combined starts along the offensive line in nearly every game. We're looking at double-digit wins and a trip to the BCS easy.

Okay, let's talk about this offensive line experience. Will you allow me that Frank Verducci is probably not a miracle worker, but simply a good coach who has to work with the talent he's given, with no capacity of turning water into wine?

Okay, that seems fair...

And that the Notre Dame offensive line the last two years has bounced between "not great" and "cover-your-eyes bad?"

Yeah, I really can't argue with that...

Then our experienced offensive line in 2009 is going to be comprised of players who were either big parts of those crappy lines of the last two years, or weren't good enough to win a spot on those lines the last two years. Or freshmen. Okay, well, you've convinced me now. Of course Jimmy will just magically have time to find receivers open deep when Brandon Graham and Everson Griffen are wheeling around his blind side with no one able to block them. Unless you're the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers and have a great defense and sexual deviant at quarterback, it's hard to win a lot of games - let alone any sort of championship -with a patchwork offensive line that doesn't allow you to run the ball with any effectiveness.

But those guys are all bigger, stronger and working harder because of the guys behind them who are talented enough to take their job, so Verducci doesn't have to work miracles, just coach them up from a C- effort to a B for this offense to be effective. Go back and look at the tape of 2006; that offensive line was not great, but having experienced guys like Brady Quinn and Darius Walker in the backfield made up for it. Jimmy Clausen, Robert Hughes, James Aldridge and Armando Allen are now those experienced guys, and instead of having Matt Shelton or David Grimes - again, God bless them - in the slot, we're going to have a freak like Duval Kamara or Shaq Evans. Maybe Cierre Woods does to the running back position what Mike Floyd did to the wide receiver position and just take it to another level right away. Plus, none of this is even taking into account our defense, which could be really, really good.

You know what, I'm actually pretty close to agreeing with you on that. The secondary should be great and the linebacking crew is a nice mix of freakish talent and skilled experience, but you've got to be worried about the line. If anything happens to Ian Williams plugging up the middle, heaven help us.

Or Omar Hunter. Yeah, I really can't argue with you on that. I think we've got the guys with the size and talent up front - Ethan, KLM, Kerry Neal, Mo Rich - to get after the quarterback, but we could have some trouble against teams that just want to punch it down our throats. Thankfully, we couldn't ask for two better coaches on that side of the ball to help make adjustments and get our boys ready. As bad as the offense looked at times last year, the defense played their asses off every game. There's a reason people our excited for this season, and I'm not going to let you bring me down today.

I'm glad we were able to find some common ground, and while I appreciate your enthusiasm, all it's going to take is one interception thrown into triple coverage and a Kaepernick touchdown scramble to wipe all of those good feelings away by 4pm Eastern on the fifth. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a sneaking suspicion you're setting yourself up for heartbreak. 2-1 or 1-2 seems like a likelier record after the first trio of games than 3-0

We'll just have to agree to disagree, because between the talent, returning starters, Clausen's maturity and Weis learning from two years of a lot of mistakes, the Irish football program is poised for a big leap this season. I know it sounds crazy after going 10-15 the last two years, but I'm thinking it is BCS or bust, and it's not like there aren't neutral observers from around the country who are starting to see my side of things.

Let me just remind you how wrong those neutral observers often are. But for both of our sakes, I hope that you -and them- are strangely prescient this time around.

Know thy Opponent 2009: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

BoilerTMill — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:03:42 -0000

My proudest moment as a blog writer came two years ago. In my 2007 Notre Dame preview, I stated there was a good chance that Irish could start the season either 1-7 or 0-8. That led to the following comment:

1-7 or 0-8? Ay yes, and I'll believe that when me sh*t turns purple and smells like rainbow sherbet ... Had you said 4-4, you might be making some sense. 0-8/1-7 makes you look like a biased fool. Do better. -- Gerry of College Football Nation on my July 12, 2007 prediction Notre Dame could start 1-7 or 0-8 in 2007

In the end, I was wrong. They started a delicious 1-9 with home losses to Air Force and Navy. It was a glorious season for Irish haters everywhere. To tell you where I stand, I think it was their best season in school history.

To be fair, Notre Dame has learned quite a bit from that season. Too much talent has too much experience now to think they will be that bad again. Last season was better for the Irish, but it wasn't night and day better. That is supposed to be this year. This game will likely be our only prime time appearance this year. Since most likely we're not going to win at Oregon, this is a good chance for us to make a little noise and show we're not as bad as people expect.

2008 Record: 7-6

Bowl result: Beat Hawaii 49-21 in Hawaii bowl

Blog Representation: Domer Sports Report , Irish Band of Brothers, Blue Gray Sky, Rakes of Mallow

Series with Purdue: Notre Dame leads 50-24-2

Last Purdue win: 9/29/07 at Purdue 33-19

Last Notre Dame win: 9/27/08 at Notre Dame 38-21

Last Season for the Irish:

Notre Dame leads the Shillelagh portion our rivalry 33-19, but a large reason for that is our 11 year drought during the Colletto/Akers years.

As for last season for the Irish, it is difficult to say if it was a step toward something bigger or the result of a weak schedule. Notre Dame played just two ranked teams, USC and North Carolina, and lost both games. Our game against them, especially in the third quarter, was one of the most embarrassing defensive efforts ever from a Purdue team. The Irish also lost games to good teams in Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and Boston College. The worst loss was a home loss to Syracuse. You can't draw much from their wins though. San Diego State was awful, yet the game was unnecessarily close. Michigan and Purdue weren't much better. Stanford and Washington didn't go to bowl games either (Washington epically so at 0-12). The only bowl team they beat in the regular season was Navy.

Much was made of Notre Dame's win over Hawaii in the bowl game. The Warriors are normally a pretty tough team at home, so it could be considered a good win. However, saying that the Warriors struggled with pass defense would imply that they had a pass defense. I do think more good came out of it than bad though. Jimmy Clausen lived up to his enormous hype for the first time in his career, and he has to show he can continue to do so lest he become Ron Powlus. Of course now that he has won a bowl game he is better than Powlus.

Everyone is talking about how easy Notre Dame's schedule is this year. I tend to disagree. The opener against Nevada is a game they should win, but the pistol offense that the Wolfpack runs could be tricky. If Michigan has any kind of an offense they can win at home the next week. Michigan State owns the Irish in South bend as well, so week three is no guarantee either. USC, Boston College, and trips to Stanford and Pittsburgh are far from guaranteed wins. I won't predict another 1-7 start, but those saying 10 wins are certain know nothing about college football.

Notre Dame offense:

This is why I am glad Brock Spack is no longer coaching for us. I got fed up with his inability to prevent players from having career days against us after last year's game. His run defense was pathetic last year against Notre Dame, especially in light of the Ohio State game against a better opponent. Allen ran for just 585 yards and three TD's on the season. He was #1 on the team in rushing yards and #2 in touchdowns for a poor running game. Against us, he had a career high 134 yards and a touchdown. To put that in perspective, his next highest single game rushing total was 73 yards against Pittsburgh. It is his only 100 yard rushing game to date. As a team, Notre Dame had 201 yards rushing against us, nearly twice as much as their season average. Notre Dame needs more of a running game to take the pressure off of Clausen. They proved that in our game last year as Clausen had plenty of time to throw and had one of his best career games. Allen, Robert Hughes (382, 4 TD), James Aldridge (357, 3 TD), and Jonah Gray (90 yards) all return, while speedy backs Cierre Wood and Theo Reddick come in has 4-star freshmen. With all that talent there is no excuse for Notre Dame to have one of the worst running games in America again.

I call him Jimmy Montana, Boiled Sports call him Pickles, some call him the Emu, but the kid has some talent.

As mentioned, that running game will be a big key to quarterback Jimmy Clausen's success. It will take a redshirt year and another medical redshirt year, both in which he wins the Heisman and the Irish win national championships, for Clausen to meet his original prediction. The junior quarterback improved greatly last season mostly because he wasn't running for his life every game. He is the unquestioned starter with 3,172 yards and 25 TD's last year against 17 picks. We failed to pick him off in our game and he threw for 275 yards and three scores. Clausen has a good completion percentage just under 61%. He can get a lot better by cutting down on his interceptions.

Clausen has plenty of talent to throw to led by junior receiver Golden Tate. Simply put, we cannot guard the guy. Spack knew nothing about covering him, and now there are other weapons to throw to so we can't focus on just Tate. Tate was far and away the best receiver last year (58-1,080-10), while Allen was second on the team in receptions. Michael Floyd (48-719-7) is a good second option who had a 100 yard day against us. He put up his numbers despite missing the final three games of the regular season. Kyle Rudolph (29-340-2) gives Clausen a solid tight end as an option as well. Duval Kamara, Robbie Parris provide depth as well.

The biggest reason for Notre Dame's turnaround was the improvement of its offensive line. They couldn't block anyone in 2007, but last year they gave Clausen some time. Senior Paul Duncan steps into the one vacancy, but it is at the all-important left tackle position. Sam Young has the most experience at right tackle with 38 career starts. Dan Wenger started every game at center last season, so there should be few problems with the quarterback-center exchange. Eric Olsen has 19 consecutive starts at left guard, while the other guard position appears to be Trevor Robinson's. The experience is a big key on this line. They have plenty of size and talent, but now they have the in game knowledge to back it up. Don't count out Chris Stewart with nine starts as well.

Notre Dame defense:

The Irish defense excels at getting tackles for loss thanks to its unique blitzing scheme. They had 60 tackles for loss last season, 1ith 18 different players having at least one negative result. 12 different players got in on a sack, so it is hard to point to one defensive player and say he is the key. Senior safety Kyle McCarthy is the leader on the defense with a team high 110 tackles and two interceptions. Stepping in for the departed David Bruton at the other safety position is Harrison Smith. Smith had 57 tackles and 3.5 sacks a year ago as a linebacker. Robert Blanton and Raeshon McNeil. Both had a pair of interceptions last season and each has plenty of experience in the secondary.

As mentioned, Notre Dame loves to blitz. It will do so repeatedly with linebackers Brian Smith, Toryan Smith, and Scott Smith. These guys are big linebackers, all over 235 pounds. Darius Fleming and stud recruit Manti Te'o should also see plenty of time in the rotation as Notre Dame goes with a linebacker by committee approach. Notre Dame is switching its main defensive scheme from a 3-4 to a 4-3 this year, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out with so much raw talent at linebacker playing a reduced role.

You can't go wrong with a giant Hawaiian linebacker who has public speaking experience.

The defensive line didn't have a huge star last season, but was fairly consistent in its 3-4 alignment. Kerry Neal will likely be used as more of an end in the new alignment where his speed will make him difficult to handle. He had two sacks last season, but will need more this year if Notre Dame is to create consistent pressure with just its line. Ian Williams and Hafis Williams continue the theme of generic last names (Smith and Williams) within the defense at the tackle positions. Ian is a space-eater inside that will make running the ball very difficult. Ethan Johnson will also likely see plenty of time. He tied for the team lead in sacks with 3.5 last season. Kapron Lewis-Moore is an unknown talent who hasn't played at all, yet had a fantastic spring by all sources.

Notre Dame Special Teams:

This was far from the team's strength as Brandon Walker hit on just 14 of 24 field goals. If we can keep Notre Dame out of the end zone he is far from automatic as a kicker. Tate and Allen will handle the return duties, as both split things almost evenly a season ago. Allen had a 96 yard kickoff return for a score in the bowl game against Hawaii.

Eric Maust is pretty good punter averaging better than 41 yards per kick. He is good at downing the ball inside the 20, doing so 16 times last year. The coverage teams are excellent, as much of the talent that doesn't get to play regularly excels on special teams. Opponents averaged just 6 yards per punt return and 16 yards per kick return in 2008.

Intangibles:

No one is facing more pressure to perform his season than Jimmy Clausen and Charlie Weis. Clause was fantastic against an awful Hawaii defense, but did virtually nothing against USC. Weis basically needs to get this team to a good bowl game or he is fired. I will agree that Clausen is getting better. I may even stop calling him Jimmy Montana. Until he has a good game against a real defense, however, I will remain skeptical. Our defense will be the strength of our team, especially early. We have very little chance of winning unless the defense plays worlds better than it did in South Bend.

A lot will depend on Notre Dame's psyche coming into this game. A 1-2 start is entirely possible before this game, especially if Michigan is markedly better. You cannot ignore that Notre Dames wins in the last eight games have come against an awful Washington team, Navy, and Hawaii. If they don't start 3-0 there will be questions.

Game Outlook:

This game gets into the realm of the unknown. It is hard to say what will happen until we see both teams play. Everyone says this is Notre Dame's best team under Weis, but is it really? What will people think if Nevada goes in and puts a scare into them in the opener? Conversely, we are supposed to be awful, but if we come in at 2-1 with a good showing against Oregon we should have some confidence. I remember how we embarrassed ourselves at home in a night game four years ago. I was so furious at that team I left the game before halftime. We can't let this game get out of hand like that one.

This could be a major turning point to our season. The Rivalry is already calling this an automatic win for Notre Dame. With our improved attitude and a good defensive performance this game will be much closer than people think. If our line can handle the blitz and we stay committed to the running game (something we always fail to do against Notre Dame) our offense should have some room to move. Notre Dame's defense is good, but we have showed the past three years we can move against it. We just need to score points to go with those yards.

Prediction:

I can't explain why I feel better about the Oregon game than I do Notre Dame. For now, I will give the edge to Notre Dame. Though I don't think Weis is as good of a coach as I used to, they have talent and experience we simply cannot match. Their passing game scares me a bit, and they showed last year they can run on us if necessary. We have to make them as one-dimensional as possible and get pressure on Clausen. This just feels like a game we'll be in a position to win, but we won't quite pull it out. If we do, however, everything changes just like it did in 1997. Notre Dame 24, Purdue 20.