I just have one comment. Anello has earned the right to be inserted as a tailback in a goal line situation when we are up by 13+ points. Also, he will punch it in. I love me some Mike Anello.
indy | Email | Homepage | 09.29.08 - 11:29 pm | #

My vote for the MVP is Armando Allen. I've been waiting for that guy to break out. If he (and the OL) can keep producing those kinds of numbers, we'll be a top 25 team this season. Plus he had a bunch more all-purpose yards.
Dave | Email | Homepage | 09.29.08 - 11:35 pm | #

Thank you for not mentioning Walker's field goal. In order to be a top 25 team, making a field goal should be routine and not a cause for celebration.

Having said that, it was great to see every player on the field goal unit congratulate Walker after he made it. Hopefully it's the first of many.
DomerOC | Email | Homepage | 09.29.08 - 11:43 pm | #

We may not have been officially credited with a sack, but intentional grounding is basically the same thing, so we did record one de facto sack.
Mr. Wednesday | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 2:05 am | #

The Purdue games was indeed a breath of fresh air. The team proved that they don't need a bunch of turnovers to win a game, or have the other team "hand the game over". I think the Irish secondary will be one of the best in the country in the near future. Behind Corwin Brown coaching them and him getting top recruits for the secondary, the Irish are set in that area of the defense. I'm still not sold on what the team identity is on the offense yet; however, winning games is better than having no identity at all.
bs0ng | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:01 am | #

Graham Watson mentioned in her blog on Sunday that Floyd is the first freshman receiver since 1992 to have a 100 yard game. She means freshman ND receiver, right? He can't possibly be the first freshman nationally since 1992, right? If it is ND receiver, kwho was it--Derrick Mayes? He should have been a freshman around then.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 4:23 am | #

What do you think the spread would be with ND and 23rd ranked Connecticut? (with Zach Frazier at QB)
jbarthel | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 7:18 am | #

On Purdue's first touchdown, the NBC guys were gushing about the blocking of the Purdue wide recievers, and you could clearly see that the receiver had both hands on the outside of Crum's shoulder pads --which I think is a hold. Correct?

Ethan Johnson cuts inside on the right tackle and the tackle locks up his arm, basically preventing him from getting around him. NBC had a great view of it with their camera and I'm assuming that one of the refs should have had it too. A hold, correct?

Soon after that, a blitzing ND player is pratically horsecollared as Painter backpetaled and managed to get the ball away. Again, the back ref is right there, looking at the whole scene.

Am I just being an IIF or do I have some beef here? How many uncalled holds are affecting the blitzing statistics?
E-man | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 7:20 am | #

This site continues to dominate.....

Agree with E-man. I saw 3 blatant holds by Purdue on ND linemen that would have had great opportunities to sack the QB if not for the holding (I think all 3 resulted in big plays for Purdue)...... These were Big Ten refs correct? Maybe the fact the ND got rid of them this year for their road games had an effect. Anyways, how the NCAA handles referees continues to be a complete joke, and the situation is exacerbated by ND's independant status.....

Having said that however, Purdue holding or not ND's defense has definitely been under-whelming this year........... Am I the only one who thought Corwin Brown and the defense did very good last year and would have been great if not for the offense being so inept. I just don't follow the logic that lead to big changes on defense this year (Tenuta)
Jimmy Two-Times | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 8:39 am | #

Jimmy2X - I agree I don't see a lot of change with the defense - except the linebackers seem to be playing alot better which might be the result of another year experience and them being much more athletic than in the past. It is a little scary when the safeties are making most of the tackles.

Nate - I think Graham is wrong - Golden Tate had a 104 yard game against Purdue LAST year.
Boston Alum | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 8:44 am | #

jbarthel - it would probably be a pick 'em in South Bend, and UConn favored by 3-5 in Hartford - even though i don't think UConn is a better team.

i think that Purdue and Michigan are both better wins than UConn has on their slate thus far. they beat a Virginia team that outside of Syracuse has to be the worst FBS team. they survived 31-28 over Baylor, who Wake beat by 38, and needed overtime to beat 1-4 Temple, who lost to Buffalo. their best win is Louisville, who will be lucky to win six games even in a pathetic Big East.
Schultz | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:15 am | #

I can't imagine Conn staying within 3 TDs of ND. They are so overrated it's ridiculous.

Ethan Johnson will be a force in the future.
gwzimm | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:24 am | #

Re: McCarthy's hustle play, the NBC announcers were gushing about it from the time it happened until Purdoo missed the FG. If you were at the game you certainly wouldn't have known that, but if you were stuck at home like me you couldn't have missed the commentary.
Domer Guy | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:36 am | #

The weekend again shows the fallacies of the ratings, and the fact that each week is a new entity. Purdue played Oregon to a standstill two weeks ago, and then Mich comes back from the dead to beat Wisconsin. Michigan didn't look great-in fact they were terrible in the first half- but Wisconsin folded.Wake loses to Navy, so it seems to me our true ranking would be anywhere from 15-20.
We should just sit quietly and win our games and let nature take its course. North Carolina does look pretty good, so that wil be the next big test.
How can we not be excited about the quality of those freshmen! Does any other team in the country have 4 or 5 making such contributions?
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:37 am | #

Um, if the "[EDIT: but apparently not overlooked by Pat]" comment in the post was referring to Pat Hayden and not BGS Pat, then I take back my comment above.

/coffee
Domer Guy | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:39 am | #

... aaaaand I just saw the post below. I'm done for today.

/idiot
Domer Guy | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:40 am | #

I also mentioned elsewhere that KM tackle to prevent a score was huge when you look back at the game. The D has the look of a bend but not break D. Not sure that is a good thing. I am very concerned with the big plays and the lack of QB pressure the D gives up. Would like to see what a game would be for both O & D put it all together on the same day.
azjimbo | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:47 am | #

Eman,
Great observations. The lack of holding penalties in wide open space had me very perplexed by the officials. Obvious holding is an understatement.
azjimbo | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:52 am | #

"I loved Blanton's determination to get into the endzone on the play."

I agree, and it reminded me of the great effort of several players to get the ball into the endzone at the end of the first half of last year's Stanford game (the one with a couple laterals that was nullified due to a penalty). Great Irish football!
Robert H. Bolling | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 9:56 am | #

I agree with Mike regarding ND's blitzing. I've been very happy with the pressure the defense has put on the opposing quarterbacks, even if it hasn't resulted in sacks. Sacks would be nice, but good things happen when the quarterback doesn't have all day to set up in the pocket. Last season, I think the opposing quarterback had too much time to throw on about 85% of the opposition's passing plays. This season, it's maybe been 15%. Just my overpriced $.02.

Oh, and yeah, there was definitely blatant, uncalled holding all over the place. The block that E-man referenced above by the WR on Crum stands out in particular. But, you have to figure ND was holding also and wasn't called for it.
The Song of Hiawatha Francisco | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 10:08 am | #

I think everyone has to remember one thing about the defense. The QB did not get sacked. However, the QB only completed 53% of his passes (29 for 55). For a spread offense, that is abysmal. Painter should be completing many more passes than that, as that type of offense is based around quick drops and short passes.

Remember the SDSU game? Their QB (Lindley) went 29/59, or 49%. We only sacked him once. But one of the regular BGS contributors mentioned that Lindley held onto the ball for 2 seconds or less on over 1/2 of the pass plays. How can you get a sack in a situation like that? I think everyone agreed that that particular analysis (seconds before throw) proved that although ND only got one sack, they harried the QB all day. I contend that they did the same thing to Painter, and we won because of it.

Sure, the defense doesn't have a lot of sacks, but what can you expect when the QB is always in shot-gun and dumps off the ball in under 2 seconds in most plays?

There is absolutely no way that ND fans should be upset with this defense (except for Jim from Redondo Beach, but we all know he is a USC fan anyway). The defense have played like mad all year. One of the things that happens with a blitz-happy defense is that if you don't hit your mark (i.e. sack or TFL), then there will most likely be a big play. Defenses like these usually give up big points against spread offenses, and ND has already faced three of them in their first four games.

Look at Georgia Tech last year (Tenuta's former team). Of their wins, the defense allowed the opponents 3,14,3,14,10 points in 5 of their wins. However, in their losses, they allowed 24,28,28,27,31,40. Of those 6 losses, I would say that 3 of those teams were spread offenses, and one of the losses was against one of the best teams that Boston College has fielded in 15 years.

The defense for ND this year is a "bend but don't break / all or nothing" type of offense. I think that the expectation level for them was set there, and I think that they have played up to those expectations quite handedly. Hell, this defense held Javon Ringer (one of the best RB's in CFB this year) to only 3.63 yards per carry when you exclude his 63 yard scamper at the end of the game.

Cheer for the defense - I think they are the highlight of this team right now (although special teams has played great, and the offense did pretty good against PU).
chrisnd | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 10:11 am | #

There's no question that the defense has been better this year. To the person who questioned Tenuta's influence and then went on to say that the only place on D they saw improvement was with the linebackers- well, who the heck do you think is coaching the linebackers this year? Hint, his name rhymes with Tenuta.

I haven't seen a whole cultural shift with this year's defense as compared to last year. I don't think Charlie had a problem with what Corwin was doing. I think he saw one of the best defensive minds in football on the unemployment line and snatched him up. Good on him.
NavyJoe | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 10:32 am | #

1. There were definitely some ridiculous holding penalties that Purdue got away with. Watching the game from a tailgate TV, everyone at the tailgate was just laughing about it because it got so ridiculous.

2. I am very happy with the defense so far this year. It would be nice to see more sacks, but I'm ok with it right now. The big problem I have, honestly, is that I don't think some of the guys on our D get off the line quick enough. Hopefully that will improve. But overall, the thing about this defense is that we have been able to dictate what our opponents will do. By blitzing constantly, we force opposing teams to use short drops and quick passes (as evidenced by the quick catch and tackle we have been seeing a lot). By dictating to our opponents what we will let them do, we gain an advantage.

3. I still would not call us a Top 25 team to anyone who things such a thing. We are quite aways off from that. Purdue is like 108th in total D. But we made some big steps. Allen looked like Darius Walker from 2005. That's a good thing. If we can spread teams out, throw the ball accurately, and open up the run we got something. The trick now will be to be just as effective against Stanford, and then keep up our production against NCarolina. If we can start being consistent, then maybe.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 11:35 am | #

Just to pick up on ChrisND's comments about the D:

Tenuta has stated that his main goal is to dictate the pace of the game. This has happened in spades so far this year. The Blanton INT is a perfect example of how this pays off. Purdue is baited into throwing quick-hit passes, and this looks like it's working great -- until it's not. There's only so long you can play that game before DBs start jumping routes, and that's precisely what happened Sat.

When they're playing at our pace, we know what to expect.
Hal | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 11:39 am | #

Even though the blitzes aren't hitting home, we're lucky the secondary has some talented young play-makers. Coupled with the improved linebacking corps, the defense should be solid for the rest of the year. I'm pretty confident with Brown and Tenuta leading the defense right now.
bs0ng | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 11:42 am | #

I like Brad's comment and want to add to it. I think the biggest gain for us this week was consistent execution of the offensive side of the ball. The opposition was weak, and I think they only had one scholarship linebacker in the starting lineup, but we have to start somewhere. Stanford isn't going to have the best athletes in the country, but their defense will be better than Purdue's. I'd like to see that offensive execution carry over into next week. We get opponents that are better and better as the season goes on (more or less), and I'd just like to see the offense run as smoothly as it did in the second half this week.

I really like Brian Smith. Great athlete and he's playing in a position that allows him to make a ton of plays - which by and large, he's done. Can't believe we hadn't offered him a scholarship until we missed on somebody else.

Anybody else see Zibby bounce off Roethlisberger last night after he came through cleanly on a safety blitz? D'oh!
Reno | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 12:05 pm | #

One glaring stat that went unnoticed on Saturday's 38-21 Fighting Irish win was Joseph Fauria's DNP, coaches' decision.

http://irishbandofbrothers.blogs...-adding- up.html
weisgipper | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 12:06 pm | #

Anyone know where I can see the McCarthy tackle? Missed it live.
Broom | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 12:32 pm | #

Broom, nbc.com should have the replay up online. If I remember right, it happened somewhere in the neighborhood of the five minute mark in the first quarter.
Mr. Wednesday | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 12:51 pm | #

I'm gonna disagree with DomerOC and say that, at this point, we should be celebrating every FG.

Scuttlebutt on Walker is that he is brilliant in practice but just can't get it done on the field. If this was him breaking through his block... that could be huge, and would affect our playcalling for the better.

I've said all season, with every game this team gets more fun to watch. Even in the State game, I felt that was our game to lose... true, we lost it, but at no point did I feel the complete helplessness of last year.

On Stanford. Go IRISH!
Dannymac | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 1:37 pm | #

Dude, that was Zibby last night!
Jack Burton | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 1:59 pm | #

A few things:

1) Did CW and company make great halftime adjustments, or did our execution simply get better? Can someone tell if we were running different personnel or different formations in the 2nd half? We were a different team it seemed in the 3rd quarter.

2) Charlie mentioned it in his post-game, but Sam Young did a great job of picking up the blitz on the Grimes TD. He first blocked his guy and then came back to get the 2nd guy, pushing him out of Jimmy's way. That didn't happen ONCE last year and Jimmy would have been absolutely destroyed on that play. Testament to the O-line's improvement.

3) Jimmy did a better job of checking down his progressions. The best example is the dump-off to Armando Allen up the middle for 8 yards. If he can continue to do that he will be a great QB.

4) Great individual efforts, great team effort, great win.
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 2:16 pm | #

1. I agree with the holding calls. I try not to complain about the refs too much, because people always see games with their own team's rooting interest, but this game stood out for me.

Also, what was up with the blatant second quarter facemask? I don't remember the players involved, but it was a Purdue receiver, running down the sideline towards the south endzone, stiffarming the ND d-back, grabbing the facemask, ripping the helmet off his head, throwing it onto the turf, and then both going out of bounds. PU scored on the next play. The refs and the announcers all did a great job pretending that nothing at all happened. That 15 yards may have prevented a PU TD.

And then there was the 7 points stolen from us when even the replay officials couldn't see that Kumara had his left foot in bounds. Yes, we should have made the FG anyway.

2. I think our pressure has been effective. I noticed that when we only rushed 3 or 4, Painter had all day to pass and generally picked us apart. When we brought heat, Painter hurried and we generally got an incomplete pass. Yes, we should be getting more sacks, but the pressure schemes have been very effective. The sack stat is misleading in this case.

3. Props to the right side of the line, Armando Allen for recognizing the holes, hitting them fast and breaking tackles, and the coaching staff for knowing how to exploit PU's weakness against the run.
sagcat | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 2:59 pm | #

I just can't get enough Wilford Brimley references.

I believe the guys who write this site said sometime in mid-August, "And when ND plays Purdue, we're going to take the Brimley reference, and by God we're gonna pound it!"

I remember at the end of last year's loss at Purdue, 'The Artist' Painter did a jerky move as he went to the turf to kill the clock in the final seconds.

I'm glad the Irish beat him one last time before he goes, if only for that. And I noticed when Jimmy Clausen took the knee, he did it like a pro.
Joe Subway | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:17 pm | #

Anyone else see that it appears CW and Ianello made serious progress on Shaq Evans over the weekend?

This class is without a marquee receiver...Evans would be a big pickup. Especially considering his soft verbal to SC right now.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/...ing-copy- 7.html
Josh | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:17 pm | #

"Anybody else see Zibby bounce off Roethlisberger last night after he came through cleanly on a safety blitz? D'oh!"

What is this 'professional football' you speak of?
I know not of it.
Joe Subway | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:25 pm | #

The face mask was a strange play - Orton caught the pass, then stiff-armed Lambert in the face, the helmet popped off and Orton was left holding the helmet in his hand. He dropped it as Lambert brought him down. (See photo 11 on the SBT photo link) To me, it didn't look like Orton ripped it off. Not sure there's a penalty there.

When the replay is up, look at Ethan Johnson's imitation of an O lineman as he fends off a Purdue tackler on Blanton's runback of the INT. Johnson stretches his arms out wide and says, "no way you're getting past me." Hilarious, but effective.

Our receiving corps is starting to look scary (good), given the amount of young talent. I'd love to see Duval Kamara get back in the picture too. Maybe a few catches against Stanford will boost his confidence.

I loved Grime's quote about Clausen calling plays at the line - "That's what Brady used to do." What an important link Grimes is between the past and future for this team.

Speaking of young receivers, any word on Deion Walker and his progress/ prospects for play this year? Is he a likely red-shirt?
Mike81 | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:37 pm | #

It looks like Weis might be a good coach after all.
jbarthel | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:46 pm | #

I was as shocked as anyone to see football on a day other than Saturday (or Thursday night). Many of the names seemed familiar, but I thought all the guys I recognized must have graduated by now.

It's a mystery that may never be solved.
Reno | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 3:47 pm | #

Canuck,

In regards to your question about other teams playing so many freshmen this year, Alabama has reportedly been playing 8-10 frosh every game so far this year. Looks like their #1 ranking in the recruiting wars from last year might have some merit.
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 4:06 pm | #

But Alabama was only #1 in the recruiting wars last year because they had some 34 students sign LoI's. When everything was said and done, Saban needed those 34 LoI's, as 7 of those signees aren't on campus right now because they are either criminals or idiots.

Alabama isn't #1 any more following the attrition.
chrisnd | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 4:24 pm | #

It'll be interesting to see what UConn does at UNC this Saturday night. It may tell us a lot about what we'll face the following weekend.

Go Irish!
Paul | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 5:02 pm | #

Regarding all the Corwin Brown/Tenuta talk I have some rather strong opinions. First of all Tenuta calls the plays that much is clear- so it would seem he's the man in charge here.

However, regardless of that, I think the area where you see Tenuta's biggest impact is not just the scheme (we're 4-3 now ala JT, rarely 3-4 ala CB) but player talent evaluation. You see, JT has like 30 years of sizing up college kids and building a kickA defense with them. Note ALL the position changes made this year: Smith at SLB, Ryan at DE, H Smith at WLB. These are all solid 'moves' that are making the team better. This is what JT can do that CB has yet to prove he can do. Although I think the two are going to share more responsibility moving forward - as CB gets in tune with JT...We need CB for secondary, recruiting and firing these guys up for sure. But, I think this is JT's Defense.
Pickel | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 5:21 pm | #

lovin' the Shins reference
Jack | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 5:55 pm | #

Off Topic:

It's official, I'm now old. I simply don't get this:

http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.c...s- 3457532.shtml
Nate | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 7:39 pm | #

Mike, I liked that Grimes quote too. It made me feel happy, like the future is not a grim place filled with mediocrity, but a time when we will frolic and smite.
indy | Email | Homepage | 09.30.08 - 10:47 pm | #

frolic and smite? or frolic and smile?

either way--I can think of some teams I would love to spite (BC, MSU, etc etc), but unicorns and rainbows and smiles sound nice too.
yak | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 12:52 am | #

spite should have been smite. My own bad juju for critiquing another's possible misspelling.
yak | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 12:53 am | #

The key thing to remember about Alabama playing that many freshmen and sophomores is that they have veteran leadership on both offense and defense, including both lines, despite the youth. All of Notre Dame's significant veteran leadership graduated in essentially one class.

It's a common theme in college football... you can get by with playing a lot of youth if you also have a good mix of experience on that side of the ball to help show everyone the ropes.
PAK'00 | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 1:02 am | #

Who was the stud lineman that picked NC over us? I thought it started with a T, but the name is escaping me at the moment.

Any idea how he is performing, assuming he is getting solid playing time? As always, thanks in advance!
Dave in the Basement | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 8:38 am | #

This offense should become a lethal, unstoppable force as the OL gains confidence and the young skill position players learn the nuances of their positions. I would not trade Tate and Floyd for any pair of WRs in college football. Nor would I trade Jimmy Clausen for any other QB. He doesn't move like a Theisman or a Montana, but he is a far better passer.
Fr.LangeBoy | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 9:27 am | #

Dave in the Basement,

Would the "stud" lineman you are asking about be DL Marvin Austin? I believe he is part of UNC's rotation at a DT position but I haven't seen any of their games yet so cannot comment on how well he is performing this year.
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 9:34 am | #

I believe they are very big on Austin. I'm not sure how the production has been, but the talking heads have been all about him.
Majnun | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 9:36 am | #

Wasn't this guy committed to ND at one point and changned his mind at the last minute to go to UNC?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/ pl...playerId=237135
Boston Alum | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 9:55 am | #

On the other side of the ball for UNC is Greg Jones, a stellar athlete that ND was close to signing (wasn't he a verbal who changed his mind?).
The Song of Hiawatha Francisco | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 9:56 am | #

Are you guys thinking about Greg Little? The wide receiver who is playing running back for them right now?
Brad | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 10:27 am | #

I believe Little was a ND verbal who de-committed to UNC on signing day.
Joe | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 10:56 am | #

That's correct. Greg Little verbally committed to ND, wavered, and signed with UNC on signing day. We also lost another "Little," Chris Little to Georgia the same day.

http://www.tarheeltimes.com/ arti...rticle8123.aspx

http://houserockbuilt.blogspot.c...tely- maybe.html

http://www.uhnd.com/blog/2008/op...g-running-back/
Mike81 | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 11:02 am | #

Yeah, Greg Little. Thanks, y'all. I have no idea who Greg Jones is.
The Song of Hiawatha Francisco | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 12:44 pm | #

Fullback for the Jaguars, I believe.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 2:43 pm | #

As I recall Austin had ND listed among his five or six schools of interest but I don't believe he ever made a commitment to the Irish.
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 4:19 pm | #

Nyshier Oliver Commits
GB | Email | Homepage | 10.01.08 - 10:43 pm | #

Anyone else catch Corwin go off on Kuntz, "I'm the coach!" What was that all about? Did Kuntz want to drop into coverage? CB really got in his grill and let him have it. It's good that there's a little controversy. Nothin wrong with that. Hey, if JC can check plays at the line can't the noseguard do the same? Hope they have it ironed out.

Go Weisrish!
T | Email | Homepage | 10.02.08 - 12:10 am | #

This AP story doesn't look great for Yeatman...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/ne...tory? id=3620570

Well, at least Rudolph has been looking sharp. Here's to hoping he doesn't get caught boozing or tear up his knee...
bpeters1 | Email | Homepage | 10.02.08 - 12:29 am | #

Thanks, Knoxville Irish. I am pretty sure that was the guy. :)
Dave in the Basement | Email | Homepage | 10.02.08 - 12:18 pm | #