AP Photo/Michael Conroy

It’s darned exciting … but I’m stressed out.  Can’t ND play another game like the Nevada contest one of these days?   In case you missed JC … that’s Jimmy Clausen, who’s been playing like another JC … he rallied the Irish for TDs near the end of regulation and then again in overtime to give Notre Dame it’s 3^rd cardiac arrest win in the last 4 nail-biting games by a 37-30 score in overtime.  Clausen also threw for over 400 yards and hopefully made Heisman voters notice that there are legit candidates playing above the Mason-Dixon Line.

Well, one might’ve thought coming into this contest that the Irish would have success running the ball on Washington.   After all, UW gave up 325 yards on the ground to an unranked Stanford squad last week.  That and, you know, the Irish have “a veteran offensive line that is coming into its own”.   Oh … and UW was ranked something like 108^th nationally in rushing defense coming in.   Nope … again the Irish baffled logic and failed to expose a less-talented opponent at home.  At least the passing game was working … and it saved the Irish in the end.

The first half saw ND keep the game closer than it should’ve been.  This was capped by another failure to close the first half as the Irish gave up a FG after allowing Washington to travel about 60 yards in less than a minute.    In addition to the fumble by Clausen returned for a TD, which was really the play that kept Washington in until the end, another big second half disappointment was ND’s inability to score a TD once reaching the UW 2 yard line and had to settle for a FG to take 19-17 lead.  Then after relinquishing a Husky TD on their first drive of the 3^rd, ND quickly moved to Washington’s 30 yard line where they had a 2^nd down and two.  A false start penalty on the Irish spoiled a good chance of keeping the chains moving and Turk punted.

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Down 24-19 late in the 3^rd, Locker easily moved Washington inside ND’s 5 yard line only to be stuffed at the one on 4^th and goal which seemed to energize the Irish.  ND marched right down to the UW 7 yard line in about 6 plays highlighted by a 37 yard romp by Robert Hughes.  But AGAIN, ND failed to capitalize on being well inside the red zone and only gained 2 yards to the 5 and had to settle for yet another Nick Tausch field goal with 12:23 left in the game.   The inability of ND to stuff the ball in the end zone on the numerous chances it had inside the 10 is both an offensive line failure and a coaching failure.  This supposed veteran OL lacks both toughness and smarts … things that are terribly important in key short yardage situations.   And you’ve got to put a lot of the blame on this Irish coaching staff.    If you cannot get an experienced O-line to give you that push, especially against a suspect rushing defense, then you’re simply not doing your job.  And in taking a look at 3^rd down efficiency for both teams … ND, playing at home, converted on only 20% while Washington was clutch 41% of the time.

With the score 24-22 on Washington’s next possession, Locker again marched the Huskies down to ND’s 36 yard line where they faced a 4^th and 3 situation with 9:42 remaining.  After a time out, UW got a key first down.  Then the the Irish gave up a 16 yard rush right up the gut and Washington would go on to score another easy TD after moving the ball effortlessly down the field to make it 27-22 Huskies.

The worry coming into the game was ND’s defense and it proved to be well-founded.  Not only did they give up that easy FG to end the first half, but Jon Tenuta’s unit’s inability to make any kind of aggressive statement or adjustment in the second half is obvious.   Let’s look at UW’s second half drives:

• 57 yards for a TD (3Q)
• 79 yards and stopped on ND’s 1 yard line
• 69 yards and a FG (4Q)
• 70 yards in 1:09 to kick a game tying FG to force OT.

That’s 275 yards of offense yielded in the second half … and Washington never punted!

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Well, as ND fans were getting ready to jump off the ledge, another great drive led by Clausen in about 6 plays gave the Irish a 1 point lead and then a 2 point conversion made it ND 30-27 with just over a minute remaining.   But once again, the Huskies moved the ball quickly down the field in very little time (about a minute) to kick the game tying FG with only 6 seconds left in regulation.

ND had the ball first in the OT and scored a quick TD made possible by a 22 yard Clausen-to-Tate pass.   Irish lead 37-30!

On Washington’s OT possession, the Irish finally sacked Jake Locker!!!!   Where was this all day?!?!!?   This helped set up a 4^th and very long and the game ended when Locker’s final pass was jarred loose by a ND defender.

Clausen for Heisman, Clausen for Heisman!!!   Jimmy was a stellar 23 for 31 for 422 yards, two TDs and again REALLY CLUTCH down the stretch when the Irish had to have scores.  Here’s a summary of game stats:

Well, we go into the off-week with some momentum BUT also plenty of nervousness.    The Irish are 4-1, a lucky 4-1.   This team is equipped with the confidence that they have the moxy and talent to come back from deficits and darn near put up 30+ point per game.  But on the other hand, a VERY LEAKY defense is preventing this team from being taken seriously … and rightly so.  Just cannot understand how this Washington team … a team the Irish completely smoked in Seattle last year (okay … it was without Jake Locker), came in to South Bend, racked up 457 yards, and took the Irish to the brink Saturday.   And the O-line just isn’t providing the toughness and physicality to make the offense completely dominant, especially when 3-4 yards are needed in key situations.

Anyway, we’ll take the win, which sets the table for the Irish to take the major step we’ve been waiting on for several years:   beat USC!    ND has two weeks to rest, get healthy, and prepare for this home game on Oct 17.   USC is beatable, but it won’t be easy by any stretch.   They are going through some growing pains with a new young QB, a young defense and new coordinators.   But if the Irish can somehow win this game against the 7^th ranked Trojans, this will create significant and much needed momentum for possibly a great season and also for the program in general.   Losing, or worse yet, not competing in this game will only stir the doubts about the coaching staff’s ability to ever bring the ND program firmly into the Top 10-15 in the country … a place were fans and alums expect it to be annually.

So … it was good to get the win, yes we needed some luck (like the overturned UW touchdown), but it’s good to be 4-1 right now.  And a doubly good day since the Michigan Skunkbears lost to Michigan State!!!

Have a great week  … and you can rest up with the Irish to get ready for the USC game.  See ya in 2 weeks!

(AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!    Notre Dame did everything they could to hand Michigan a win today, and the Wolverines gladly accepted the gift.   I don’t know what hurts more … the gut-wrenching defeat for the Irish or the fact that Charlie Weis & Co breathed life back into Michigan’s program … one that was in complete disarray 2 weeks ago.   Either way, this game exemplified the EXACT reason I could not buy into any prognostications having the Irish go undefeated or 11-1.    Make no mistake, this was a total team loss as there were several huge errors made by several different Irish players, but the real disappointing thing was this:   with ND nursing a 34-31 lead with the ball and only about 2:20 left in the game, we needed a “real coaching staff” at that point to cement what should have been a nice victory.  Instead, amateur hour ensued on the Irish sidelines enabling Michigan to walk away with the gifted 38-34 win.

The first half was very frustrating for ND as they tallied over 300 yards of offense, but led by only 3 at halftime 20-17.   Several penalties on the offense nullified numerous big plays for the Irish and probably cost them at least 7-10 points.    The costly penalties would continue to hurt the Irish in the second half.  The kick-off that UM returned for a TD was symptomatic of another problem that hurt ND several times in this game and has been a problem for many years now:   a kicker with a wimpy leg who can only kick it to the 10 yard line (or worse).    And given the final score, the nullification of what we thought was ND’s first TD on a screen pass was yet another bad break in the first half.    Apparently, the replay official was the only one who thought that Armando Allen CONCLUSIVELY was out of bounds on his way to the endzone and he inexplicably overturned the call on the field.   ND settled for a FG and lost 4 valuable points.   Lastly, with some momentum after taking the lead 20-14 with about 90 seconds left in the half, another crappy kick-off helped Michigan to a gift FG to close within three before the whistle.  The Irish could have easily been ahead by maybe a 30-14 margin while demoralizing the Wolverines, but their inability to capitalize would come back to haunt them.   On a positive note, ND came back from an 11 point deficit in hostile territory … something they would do again in the 4^th quarter.

For much of the second half, the Irish defense was unable to stop a rejuvenated UM offense.   One of ND’s Achilles heels, shaky run defense, contributed to another deficit as Michigan gashed the Irish D for several big runs … between the tackles.   None was bigger than Tate Forcier’s 33 yard TD scamper on a 4^th and 3 play to give the Wolverines a 31-20 lead early in the 4^th quarter.   The Michigan freshman proved to be the best player on the field today as he made several big plays … many of them nice improvisations after escaping the rush.     What was real disturbing for Irish fans is that you got the feeling that the freshman Forcier was the ONLY player on the field that could beat us.   Yet, Jon Tenuta’s defense failed to stop him and it was one of the main things that cost ND the ball game.

There were more disturbing tendancies and errors in the second half.  1) The normally sure-handed Golden Tate dropped two passes … one in the end zone and one long bomb that woulda been a TD.  2)  At times, the Irish offense looked confused and squandered two timeouts while also suffering a delay of game penalty.  3) When ND really needed a good punt from the veteran Eric Maust at the end of the 4^th quarter, he obliged with a measly 27 yarder and wasn’t even rushed.     Despite all of this, the Irish showed some poise and came back from a second 11 point deficit to take a 34-31 lead with 5:10 remaining.

After a rare good defensive set, the Irish forced a Michigan punt and got the ball back at about their own 18 yard line with about 3 mins left.    The Wolverines had all 3 timeouts left.   On first down, ND ran the ball with Armando Allen gaining a first down to about the 31.   Good call … and, at this point, I’m sure ND fans were getting more confident that we might actually pull this one out … assuming of course that we wouldn’t do anything stupid.   Hold that thought.    On 1^st and ten from the 31 … Robert Hughes runs off tackle for a 1 yard gain.    There’s about 2:35 left and Michigan is forced to use a TO.    And this is when ND needed “a real coaching staff” instead of the in-game circus act under the CW bigtop.   I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking RUN THE BALL on 2^nd down … make ‘em use their 2^nd time out and maybe ya get 3-5 yards.   Or … if you dare think about passing … do something quick and real high percentage … afterall, what we really need is just one more FIRST DOWN.   A FIRST DOWN!!!   Hit super TE Kyle Rudolph 10 yrds downfield!!!   But NO …. Charlie calls for a pass … yet another deep ball to Not-so-Golden Tate and it falls incomplete.  Clock stops with only 6 seconds expiring.   UM still has 2 TO’s left.   3^rd and nine now.     You could still run at this point … maybe a draw … or even run a screen pass … again, at least make ‘em use a TO if you don’t  get the first down.    Clausen threw a quick 11 yard sideline pass that was wide open, but he probably rushed the throw and it was another incompletion.   I have no problem with the call for a pass in this situation, but this is the pass and the pattern they should’ve gone for on 2^nd down!!!!   Charlie …. If you really have to pass on 2^nd down (very debatable), go for the high % 12 yarder and a first down.   A first down wins the game!!!

So what ensued after this abysmal play-calling was the pathetic punt by Maust (hey Eric … ya might be able to kick it 45 yards if you’re not clutching your esophagus with both hands … you almost missed the ball entirely).   Then, predictably, the Irish could not stop THE FRESHMAN Forcier as he escaped several times to scramble and complete clutch passes … eventually leading to the dagger score with 11 seconds left.   More poor in-game coaching as the Irish coaches failed to tell their players to get the first down, fall down and use the final timeout instead of wasting time running around.

Again, what we saw today was a pretty talented and determined Irish squad that showed some guts in coming back from two 11 point deficits in a very hostile environment.   ND players definitely made a lot of mistakes … any one of which could’ve been the difference in the ballgame.   But ND needed their coaching staff to maintain their poise and close the deal when they had the lead with two and a half minutes left.    Instead, we all saw another data point that extends the disturbing trend of a team underachieving largely because its coaching staff is apparently not skilled enough to meet the challenge.  An experienced and talented Irish team under Parseghian, Devine or Holtz would’ve certainly won this game today.

Unfortunately, ND’s national title hopes are again dashed very early on in the season.   To be honest, I never thought the Irish were title caliber this year … did you?   The defense is still too raw up front and of course, there’s this issue about the capability of the coaching staff.    But they can still have a very good season … and they will …. BUT ONLY IF THEY BEAT MICHIGAN STATE NEXT WEEK.   Given MSU lost to Central Michigan at home today, the Irish should beat them in South Bend.   Keeping team morale up after today’s heart-breaking loss is the immediate challenge for this challenged ND coaching staff and it’s something they have not excelled in during past seasons.   Hopefully, they can get this one thing right … otherwise , a loss to MSU will indicate that another tragic season is underway and the predictable coaching search will undoubtedly ensue.    Next week’s game is unquestionably a must win game for Charlie Weis.

AP Photo/Michael Conroy

For starters, this was a pretty good performance.   Yes, ND pitched a shutout against a pretty good offense, but it was one of those games where there were a lot of “baserunners and Irish pitchers were fortunate to get the double play ball when they really needed it”.   But any time you can hold an accomplished WAC offense like Nevada’s scoreless, it should be noted and celebrated.   This was ND’s first shutout since 2002 (Rutgers).   The Irish gave up quite a bit of yardage in the middle of the field, but were both stout and lucky when it came to red zone defense.  Clearly, Jon Tenuta’s defense will frequently employ the blitz and Saturday Nevada’s offense was swarmed repeatedly from multiple directions.

On offense, Notre Dame used a highly efficient and very effective passing game to dismantle the Wolfpack.   Clausen connected on 15 of 18 throws, and with a little help from his talented WRs and TE, he amassed 315 yards and 4 TDs.   Like the Hawaii Bowl game, this was more evidence that ND’s offense will be prolific when both Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are in the game.   They are two outstanding WR’s and when combined with Kyle Rudolph at TE and running backs who can catch, Clausen has mutliple weapons with which he can perform surgery.   When the OL gives him time to throw, yards will be amassed and points scored.

As ND prepares to go into the Big House next week to face RichRod’s Michigan Skunkbears, there’s really only one thing that bothers me:   run defense.    At times Saturday, Nevada tailbacks shredded ND’s D-line and easily got into the defensive backfield.   There were holes up front followed by sloppy tackling further downfield.   Was this because the Irish were focusing so much on stopping the dangerous QB Kaepernick?   Or is this really a chink in the armor?   I suspect it’s a little of both.   If there was one recognized worry coming into this season, it was the youth of the defensive linemen.   There’s talent there, but not a lot of experience, plus they are little undersized.   Of course, this doesn’t mean they won’t get better as we go, but this is something that teams will try to exploit and we’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Overall, Irish fans should be pleased with the effort and the confidence displayed by ND Saturday.   This year, there seems to be a different “feel” … not sure what it is … I know it’s only after one game and everything could change a week from today … but the team looked quietly confident.   Business like, but having fun.   They knew what the gameplan was and they knew they would execute it.   As an observer, I never really lost confidence that ND would emerge victorious Saturday.  I can’t remember the last time I had that feeling for most of the game.   Anyway, maybe it’s a sign that experience, maturity and leadership have found their way into the locker room.

Again, it’s only one game.   I’m really looking forward to how this team “takes the show on the road” into very hostile territory.   I honestly don’t see UM beating the Irish next week … but what I’m hoping we don’t see is the Irish beating themselves.    If ND has truly improved in the maturity area, we should expect to see and Irish W and a 2-0 record.

Have a great Labor Day and a good week!