I posted this in the game thread, but as there is a new one and people might not go to the old comments, I'll post here. I apologize that it's "off topic" of ND football, but I think it's worth it.

Some of you may have known Ryan Shay, the ND long distance runner who passed away 2 years ago during the Olympic Trials in NYC.

Well, read this:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com...thon/ index.html

A good friend of his became the first American to win the NYC marathon since 1982, and he paid tribute to Shay before, during, and after the race. Truly amazing, and brought a tear to my eye.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 10:17 am | #

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com...thon/ index.html

Sorry, full link didn't post. This one's correct.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 10:17 am | #

Had to pass this along:

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!'

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 10:31 am | #

Welcome aboard Mr. Hurd and Mr. Bernard, now can you please bring some OL guys with you and a couple of DL's wouldn't hurt either!!
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 10:33 am | #

That's awesome, aaron - thanks for the laugh!
baIrish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 10:42 am | #

Irish -

Congrats on your win.

What the hell happened this weekend? Our once deadly Defense was well...dead. I don't recall an SC defense playing this poor since Paul Hackett was HC. In between vomiting sessions, it seemed like SC's DL and LBs couldn't get off their blocks all night.

Hats off to Oregon. They kicked our butts up and down the field all night. I love the passion of the Oregon team/fans. They won in every aspect of the game.

Fortunately, we are entering the easier stretch of the schedule, but the defense looks to be in bad shape. All I can say is that the gap between USC and the rest of the Pac-10 has narrowed a lot in the past 5 years.

If we can somehow finish 10-2, we'll be content, but I never thought we'd lose that bad.

Time to start a new run

Fight On, Men of Troy!
WeAreSC | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 10:51 am | #

Glad, to see yet another good recruit signing up, (well not yet, until signing day). Charlie & Company sure look like the have another good class coming in, I hope to see some more top OL & DL prospects coming.

Hope all player who got hurt on Saturday get better.
NOEL | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:09 am | #

You forgot McNeil on the CB chart.
Geoff | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:27 am | #

Welcome Tony and Gio...I hope you play early out of merit!

BGS...I know you guys don't do speculative recruiting posts, but could you discuss in the comments section here what you've heard on where we stand with some of the linemen recruits:

OL:
Matt James
James Stone
Brandon Linder
(dare I say it) Seantrell Henderson

DL:
Ego Ferguson
Louis Nix


I'd say we need a minimum of two of the 4 listed OL's and Nix on the DL to consider this class any sort of success yes?
ColoradoIrish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:29 am | #

McNeil will be gone after this season. That depth chart is for next season.
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:39 am | #

And as long as we get another OT prospect and a DT prospect. Then I would say this class is a success.

Averaging 3 Oline recruits per year should put 15 total on our roster each year. That should be plenty.
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:41 am | #

ColoradoIrish - It sounds like Nix is the best bet of those players you listed. The rest are still interested in ND to varying degrees, but I'd just be guessing if I tried to get any more precise than that.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:43 am | #

Welcome aboard, guys! Go IRISH!

Does anyone else get worried, though, that some of our DB recruits for this class are shorter than I am? I'm sure they'r'e crazy-athletic, but with WR's generally getting taller it seems we would want CBs who can guard the jump ball.
Erik '04 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:49 am | #

I don't mind if the cornerback recruits are shorter than desired, as long as they can understand what they're supposed to do in the defensive scheme Teunta and Brown are thinking up. If they're 6'10" and play out of this position, that's not going to do anyone any good.

Speaking of recruiting, while Tate was a solid RB, wasn't he "only" a 3-star coming out of HS?
E-Man | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:59 am | #

Brian Smith was only a 3 star guy.

Tate was an 80+ recruit according to espn. His brother was only a 3 star guy however.
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 12:02 pm | #

For what it's worth (very little), Tate was a four-star on Rivals, as was B Smith. http://www.rivals.com/commitlist...hool=55& Sport=1
Interesting factoid - fellow Tennessean H. Smith was listed with a faster 40 than Tate.
Mike81 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 1:11 pm | #

Mike81,

Interesting to note that Rivals has Tate's 40 yard time at 4.42 and Harrison Smith's at 4.38.
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 1:40 pm | #

Erik, the corners being recruited now have to have better speed and a premium is not being put on "physical" play (strength) as it was in recruting under Corwin. Tenuta needs his corners fast to play his preferred scheme. (I gather from watching that is so they have a better chance at catching guys from behind)
Ghost of Corwin | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 1:40 pm | #

Don't worry Corwin, I believe in you. Corwin Brown will be a future Barry Alvarez, while Tenuta will always be at best a D-Coordinator.
E-Man | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 1:48 pm | #

$C; Seems like all the writers in SoCal are jumping off the ledge. Condeming PC, and the new OC & DC. $C's got talent up the wazoo, not Wazu, but wazoo, they'll be back and better then ever.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 1:52 pm | #

Wow Urban Meyer....he suspended Spikes for only one half against Vanderbilt? What a horrible message he's sending.....first he leaves in Tebow to run up the score against Kentucky, and now this? The king of college football is starting to look a little pathetic.
Trevor | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:06 pm | #

Nice use of Wazu.
Carroll's clearly a charlatan and has finally been exposed. Only 1 (or is it 2?) NC's, 7 Pac-10 titles, etc., etc. With all that talent, history, Hollywood glitz, etc? What an underachiever.
oakvilleirish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:08 pm | #

Oakville, perfect intro for this: http://ballhype.com/video/hitler...s-pete-carroll/
Mike81 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:22 pm | #

Carroll's clearly a charlatan and has finally been exposed.

"Charlatan" is a bit of a stretch. Of late, USC tends to sleepwalk through at least one game a season, with disastrous, BCS-Championship-shattering results. Last year, it was Stanford. This year, the head-scratching loss was to Washington (although if Barkley wasn't hurt, USC would have won). He still recruits extremely well, gets them to play extremely well (most of the time) and racks up great seasons. Just not as many national-championship seasons as the Trojan Clubs of Los Angeles and San Diego would like.
DJ | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:37 pm | #

Lets have a little talk about our guys! Goodman, Slaughter, Filer, and Motta all looked very good.Very good signs for the future and the present. There was a good comment in one of the front page articles that Clausen can't make the throw that Crist made.I wouldn't necessarily agree, but for two years I have been advocating that very throw to Tate. For whatever reason, Jimmy does not seem to hit guys in stride. prefering the comeback or fade routes. I can see Tate scoring 3x a game on that play. Anyone have any insight as to why Charlie doesn't call it?
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:38 pm | #

Tate over the middle with the QB hitting him in stride is not called very often for two reasons:

1.) High Risk, as it is directly over the middle and requires perfect timeing.

2.) High Risk, as it leaves the receiver open for a devastating hit if the Safety happens to be playing exactly where he is supposed to be.

That play was a perfect culmination of Tate running an incredible route, Crist hitting him with a perfect timing throw (that I think Clausen could do spot on, too), and the fact that the Safety was completely out of position. That is a one-time type of play, because usually the Safeties aren't out picking weeds instead of covering the middle. Crist read the play perfectly, and knew that the safety would be out of position. That play normally doesn't work that well, and I don't think that Tate was even the primary receiver on that play - I just think he happened to be in the right place at the right time with single coverage and no help from the Safety.

That play would probably work pretty well against a cheating Safety on a regular basis if you have a QB with even a decent level of skill (of which ND clearly has 2), but instead is run very infrequently because most Safeties do their job and are where they are supposed to be. In this case, the Wazzou safety wasn't.
chrisnd | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:51 pm | #

canuck, the recent double-coverage of Tate might be preventing that type of throw. Also the safeties were probably creeping closer to the LOS w/ Crist in, expecting a higher % of running plays, and I'm guessing nobody on WSU's D expected Goodman to be able to fly like that.

My HOPE is that Charlie is keeping a few of those "where has that been all my life?!" passes in his back pocket for use against the toughest opponents. However, I don't recall many "in-stride" routes against SC, so I dunno how true that is. Either way, here's hoping Jimmy & friends light up Navy & Pitt in the next couple weeks!

One other comment: I think Kamara deserves some props for quietly but solidly stepping up these last couple weeks. He seems to have shaken his nagging case of the dropsies, and it looks to me like Jimmy is gaining confidence in him. He might not be the 2nd coming of Mo Sto that I hoped for (yet), but I like the way he attacks defenders, whether w/ the ball in his hands or blocking. Have to agree w/ the ISD article that called for more than just the 5-8 yd routes for the guy, though.

Go Irish!
baIrish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 2:59 pm | #

chrisnd, I'm pretty sure the pass in question was to Goodman, not Tate.
baIrish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:01 pm | #

Of course you realize it was Goodman.However, it seems to me that although I have heard those exact reasons before, the middle is always open (certainly ours is!) and we are talking about Tate and Clausen. In case you are not old enough to remember(no slight intended) this was a signature Montana to Rice play. Worked for them too.
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:01 pm | #

I agree about the double covering of Tate limiting his deep receptions. He's cutting off routes short so as to not get bracketed.

While some people (on other sites) are commenting about the (over)use of a few plays during the WSU game, I see it as more of keeping their plans close to the vest until they need them, arguably against Pitt or Stanford (do NOT forget about them).
E-Man | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:02 pm | #

personally loved CW calling the same wildcat play 4 times in a row.. for 50plus yards.. finally taking what they were giving us...

good to see the holes and the backs hitting them...

I don't get H Smith..thought he would be much better this year.. has all the tools on paper... wonder how he and Tate stack up now in the 40?? Seems like something is amiss either mentally or physically with him.
jmc | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:05 pm | #

Also agree with the other commenters... not jumping up and down until CW brings in some stud OL and DL prospects....
jmc | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:06 pm | #

Hi DJ, it's a pleasure to meet you.
Sarcasm | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:39 pm | #

Golden Tate: one against three. Looks like a fair fight.
Joe Subway | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:53 pm | #

It's Monday and I'm still sitting on my couch with my eyes wide open and my jaw on the floor from Tate's catch at the end of the first half.

He is just mean to other teams. I love it.
Joe | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:55 pm | #

There area few main reasons why Clausen doesn't throw the post route.

The first is that our running game up until this game has been at best moderately effective. This allows the defense to sit in Cover 3 Zone Under where the post is taken away by a deep safety in the middle of the field and LB's underneath.

The second reason is that with Floyd out team's can focus on Tate and deny him the inside of the field with safety help over the top on the fade route. That has made the fade disappear from playing-calling as well, minus the great throw to Tate in the USC game (Mays was out of position).

The third reason is that Clausen actually has trouble making that throw. If you've watched him closely, mostly last year, we called several plays where Rudolph ran posts down the middle of the field that Clausen simply overthrew. The overthrow might be a result of underneath coverage by LB's but none the less Clausen has been inconsistent down the middle and hitting receivers in stride. The only time you really see him throw the ball to a receiver as he's moving is on the fade or on a rollout.

The final reason which may be the most significant is simply that the game situation opened up the throw for Crist while previous situations have not allowed Clausen to make the same throw. We were winning big, running the ball well, and our backup QB was in the game. WSU was playing up, trying to stop the run, which they did effectively against Jonas Gray. Goodman doesn't receive the focus that Tate does and thus wasn't a primary concern for the WSU defense. On that play specifically WSU was in Cover 2, Crist play faked to Riddick and that froze both safeties just long enough for Goodman to get between them. In short they just didnt expect our backup QB to throw a 25 or so yard laser to Goodman when we were already up 33-7.

I think with Clausen in all defenses play to stop the pass first. If we can continue to rush well and we get Floyd back healthy, defenses will have to play much more balanced and Clausen may start to throw the post.

However, I'll still be satisfied if we just throw it up to Golden in triple coverage. Seems to work out pretty well!
David | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 3:55 pm | #

Notre Dame vs. Navy is a pick'em. That's right. Las Vegas doesn't know who will win the game between the irish and the midshipmen.

Notre Dame is not a favorite at home against Navy. Really? Is this how far we've fallen?
Mark | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 4:06 pm | #

It seems to me that the only 2 drops by Tate this year were dead on strikes by Clausen on go routes that both would have been TDs.
GB | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 4:16 pm | #

We recruiting any OL and/or DL?
danirish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 4:29 pm | #

Floyd gonna be back for this? If so, we sink Navy.
stewvee | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 4:41 pm | #

danirish...did you see my earlier post?

oakvilleirish...clearly you're were joking with the "caroll's a charlatan" comment and DJ simply missed the sarcasm yes?

if carrol's a charlatan please sign me up for a charlatan coach as well thank you very much.
ColoradoIrish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 4:46 pm | #

Maybe the Vegas line has something to do with the fact that Navy went into the Horseshoe and almost beat OSU and then came on later in the year to lose to Temple. I think ND wins this one handily though.
Broom | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 4:50 pm | #

Mark I live here in Vegas and the line is ND -11. At least as of a few hours ago.
TJ | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 5:01 pm | #

^^ that was a good analysis, and saves me some trouble. I would only add that a post to the the TE is a bit different than a post to a WR because of the LB's being underneath. It's a trickier through to the TE because of the danger of throwing it right to a dropping LB.

But whoever said Jimmy can't make that throw is absolutely bonkers, he can make any throw out there, and with just about the best precision and accuracy of any college QB out there.
KyleJones | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 5:05 pm | #

Mike81 - Thanks for the Rivals link, I couldn't help but spend 20 minutes of work time checking out all our recruiting classes dating back to 2002.

Not that this is anything new to anyone on this site, but look back at our 2004 and 2005 recruits: http://www.rivals.com/commitlist.asp

Combined with the attrition from the '06 class, it's amazing that 2007 was our only losing season with this type of recruiting on the books. With that said, I just turned the corner on how I feel about Weis. Furthermore, looking deeper into '04 and '05 recruting years shows Michigan State / Boston College / Syracuse all had similar to slightly better recruiting years than we did. I don't expect any of these schools to consistantly beat USC, so maybe getting myself so worked up over losing these few years was a little much. Our current squad is fun, talented, and enjoy being ND student-athletes. One can seriously argue we are 2 Floyd injuries from being undefeated. Whether we run the table or not the rest of the year, I would like to see Charlie continue coacking these next few years.
Eddy | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 5:06 pm | #

Navy's going to be tough. I expect the usual clock-eating option running. But then they can also catch your secondary pinching up to pitch in and throw bombs over their heads. Just ask Ohio State.

Sorry, I know it's only Monday.
Joe Subway | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 5:23 pm | #

Eddy, I have been trying to argue that point for a while. Ty left a huge gap in numbers AND talent. Charlie couldn't plug it with JUCO transfers either.
Lowayne | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 5:23 pm | #

Good news TJ, I almost had a heart attack when I looked on Yahoo this morning. 11 sounds about right. I know they always give a little more to the Irish to even out the betting action, so I could see us winning by 8 to 10 points.
Mark | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 5:34 pm | #

Yes, baIrish, my bad - you are correct as Goodman was the open receiver over the middle, not Tate.

But I think that everything else that I said rings true regardless of who the receiver is. The safeties were cheating. Crist properly read it as such. Goodman ran his route properly, and Crist hit him square. The infrequency of such a play is directly due to the fact that most good safeties don't cheat on the LoS so blatantly.
chrisnd | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 6:14 pm | #

WOW!! Talking about Yahoo. Their take on Myer and Florida football.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/foo...=yhoo& type=lgns
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 6:14 pm | #

Pitt game is at 7:00, ABC regional coverage
craig, lincoln ne | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 6:16 pm | #

Now why would Giovanni want to join a team where his high school teammate Ben "50/50 it goes 20 yards" Turk is the punter?
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 6:28 pm | #

Jim Masterson - When it comes to sportswriters and their opinions, I'll defer to Bobby Knight, "Its one or two steps above prostitution," and "Most people learn to write when they are in the second grade and then they move on to bigger and better things." Does anyone really care what sportswriters think/say?

We lost a game to a better team. It happens! That's why the game is played. I think its hilarious when fans/sports writers get their collective panties in a bunch following a loss. The better team won. Sports fans have no perspective, but John McKay, former USC football coach, put it best, "Gentlemen, We ought to keep in mind that there are over 600 million Chinese who don't care whether we win or lose."

USC annihilated Oregon last year, 44-10, and Oregon returned the favor this year, 47-20. Where were all of the people calling for the heads of Mike Bellotti/Chip Kelly/Nick Aliotti in 2008? And having watched enough Oregon games this season, I'll take that team over any other for a national championship.

Losses happen, but to abandon ship or call for wholesale changes is silly. A person's/team's true character is shown when things don't go as planned, rather than when going well. USC will be back stronger than ever. This is our least dominant team since 2001. Give USC time, and we'll be back.

DJ - just a correction. We lost to Stanford in 2007 when JD Booty broke his hand. 2008 was a loss to a extremely good 10-3 Oregon State team that went on to beat Pitt in its bowl game.

Fight On!
WeAreSC | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 6:46 pm | #

for some reason I remember that Oregon St/Pitt bowl game. I believe it was a 3-0 game.
craig, lincoln ne | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 6:53 pm | #

$C, I would have qb'ed $C to victory over The Tree. 40+ faves at home. Ya gotta be$hitting me.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:03 pm | #

BoobyK was off by a 1/2 billion, when he said that. Shows how smart he was/is.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:04 pm | #

My bad. John McKay. He was always joking with Father Hesburgh, that he should have hired him, Mckay insead of the Presbyterian.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:05 pm | #

WeAreSC

You seem like a decent guy but sorry to say this, actually no I'm not, but I think SC has jumped the shark. After a decade of dominance, much like ND in the 90's. It is so hard to keep up the mo - coaches move on, attitudes slacken, the bar is set so high it's hard to continually surpass, alums, fans and the media get restless, etc., etc.
I'm not saying SC implodes, hopefully for your sake, they don't pick the wrong guy to lead the program when carroll eventually decides he's had enough, but its more likely than not that the next ten years are worse than the last 10.

Colorado Irish: Of course I was being sarcastic.
oakvilleirish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:08 pm | #

SIAP but if you have not read the manifesto over on MGBlog I highly recommend it. It might be one of the more persuasive explanations of what is wrong with ND football that I've read even though its purpose is to explain away UM's decline...

It's a good read if you have 30 minutes.


http://mgoblog.com/diaries/decim...- statisticating
torquemada | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:35 pm | #

oakville -

I'm not sure what you mean by SC's has jumped the shark. I know the expression, but I'm not sure how it is applicable.

USC lost to a great Oregon team. Actually, we were blown out of the water. SC has been playing poor defensive football for the past 9 quarters, but prior to this, it was 23 quarters of great defense. Has something fundamentally changed in the USC football program in the past 2 weeks? Maybe, but I'm willing to believe that there are also other factors at play - youth, fatigue/depth, injuries - that have contributed to the poor performance. Can USC or any team be dominant forever? Obviously not, but I would argue that SC was the best team in college football in 2008 and would have beaten either 1-loss Florida or Oklahoma if they were invited to the BCS championship. Remember that Florda in 2007 went 8-5 losing to Michigan in the Capitol One Bowl, before winning the BCS last season and possibly playing in it again this year. USC is having a down year, but could still go 10-2. Many Trojans (myself included) were expecting a 9-3 or 8-4 season, so I don't think its time to queue the band for a rendition of Taps as Pete Carroll rides Traveler off into the sunset.

Still, it remains to be seen if USC regains its dominance. Maybe I've drank the kool-aid, and since I don't have insight into the day-to-day of the SC program, maybe there are huge issues that I'm not considering. But intelligent folks can debate and disagree.

As far as USC's next head coach after PC retires and the state of California renames the LA Coliseum, as "The Pete Carroll Coliseum," it will most likely be Rocky Seto. He's a great, young coach, who is an excently recruiter, and the players absolutely love him. Moreso than Pete Carroll.

Fight on, Men of Troy!
WeAreSC | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:41 pm | #

Recruiting started to turn the corner in 2006 (this year's 4th year seniors), but the seniors have had a lot of attrition and injuries.. There have been a lot of injuries (Aldridge, Schmidt, Nuss, West), players who left for more playing time elsewhere (Jones, Frazer, Reuland, Prince, Jackson), guys who missed time or left due to other problems (Walls, Webb, Yeatman). This is still a young team. They are going to have another strong class this year and improve.
bamboo | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:44 pm | #

All of you should be out here in So-Cal. I have to be honest and say that it's a little bit gratifying to hear the local ESPN Radio affiliate (flagship home of the Trojans) is awash with hosts telling the SC fans to cool down with the 'Out with Carroll' talk, and trying to help people keep things in perspective. 1 loss to a better team (paraphrasing WeAreSC there, with whom I agree) after dominating the PAC-10 and being a perennial top 10 program for nearly a decade, and they're climbing the walls.(As opposed to our legitimate wall-climbing throughout the past 12 years or so :-) )

USC will be around, folks. They'll continue to be trouble for the next several years. Barkley has been scarily good for a true Freshman in just about all of the other games they've played. He was undefeated until this past weekend (out for Washington game).

BTW... Ivan Maisel said this morning on the Herd that Pac10 is essentially comparable this year to the SEC.
goldenStateDomer | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:44 pm | #

Keep bring em in chuck.
IN WEIS WE TRUST.
StadiumDudeNamedChip | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 7:57 pm | #

great line-"bring em in chuck". I agree. Heres another reason I like Charlie, he actually talks to the media and thus to us and answers questions in whole sentences (possibly his education)
I am torturing myself by following the Brady Quinn saga in Cleveland. To paraphrase briefly, Mangini has said after each of the last two debacles that he liked the way Anderson was moving the ball, and that Anderson gave them the best chance to win. I'm thinking that Brady must have hit on Mangini's wife or something.
Anyway, Charlie always has a full explanation for every change, and it keeps us in the loop without taking us for idiots
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 8:12 pm | #

jmc,

Tate vs. H. Smith in a forty today? Take Tate and give the spread.

I agree something seems wrong with H. Smith's play this year. I'm not here to defend him or his play but just consider this. Last season Smith played as a linebacker and for the most part played well in what was his first season of action and I believe with Corwin Brown as defensive coordinator. This season Tenuta takes over as the DC and Smith is moved to free safety where he has had his trouble. Against BC Smith moves back down to the SAM linebacker position (I think it was SAM) and in that role played fairly well. When he was in as a safety against the Eagles he again had his struggles on a few plays. Maybe Tenuta needs to leave him at the linebacker position and find someone else to play the FS spot.
Knoxville Irish | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 8:15 pm | #

BTW, thanks for the various insights about the post route. I still think it would work with the best qb and receiver in the country, but I appreciate that there are sound reasons for staying away with it.
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 8:15 pm | #

Hi BGS'ers,

Just wanted to check in with an SA game report from Saturday night. We parked around noon and did the tailgate thing until an hour before gametime--the folks out tailgating were in good spirits and numbers, and it was definitely an ND-dominant crowd. We got inside right around the time ND was cranking up warm-ups (40 yd-line, 4 rows back, WSU side--still nearly all ND fans), and I have to say, for my first time ever seeing the team, it was pretty cool to see all the players and coaches going through their pre-game and getting amped up. In spite of the large crowds outside and up inside up through kickoff, the Alamodome was never in danger of selling out. Even though it was mostly full, there were definitely chunks of empty seating throughout the stadium. An apt comparison would be to your typical Alamo Bowl crowd--decent-sized, but about what you would expect for two teams without especially significant rooting interests in the area. Nevertheless, those in attendance were enthusiastic (and even moreso down on the Riverwalk post-game). Oh, and the team looked pretty damn good :). We got a great look at Golden's catch at the end of the half, and it was every bit as incredible as the video highlights show. Just a great weekend for the city and its inhabitants--from the pep rally Friday night to the post-game celebration late Saturday, Notre Dame & San Antonio put on a great show.
LmnJello | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 8:24 pm | #

To put things in perspective, USC gave up 47 points and 613 yards total offense to a good team. Stuff happens in college football. When was the last time a ND defense gave up 47 and/or 613 yards total offense?
lush | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 8:36 pm | #

Thanks for the comment, LmnJello. The game really did not register (either before or after) with the national media, so I've wondered what a more local opinion would sound like. Do you think it would have been a better turn-out if not for Halloween?
Louie | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:28 pm | #

Or if the opponent had been stronger than WSU?
Louie | Email | Homepage | 11.02.09 - 11:28 pm | #

Anyone remember the last weekend that all of the following 3 happened together:

(1) Notre Dame scores 40+ and wins going away.

(2) SCum gets rocked by an underdog.

(3) scUM gets rocked by an underdog.

A good weekend, indeed. Now we just need the return of St. Michael to catapault the Irish to 10-2 and Clausen to his first Heisman.

Go Irish! Beat Navy!
Matt '09 | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 12:21 am | #

Louie,

It really was a "perfect storm" of sorts for this first neutral site game, at least down here. WSU, like it or not, is just not going to attract any kind of significant media coverage here. That the game fell on Halloween probably hurt more down here than it helped--esp. with ut-osu going on, and other regional games that just registered more strongly on the local landscape than this one particularly did. Given my own biases however (based on first-person impressions of the game), I thought the ND fans really turned out as well as could be expected.
LmnJello | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:44 am | #

Urban Meyer's failure to discipline Spikes (wandering the sidelines for the first half of a game is NOT really discipline) is an issue that will forever taint his coaching reputation, unless he decides to revisit this matter and act accordingly.

As sports fans see the YouTube video, more and more critical editorials are popping up. Here is another I just came across:

http://kevin-blackistone.fanhous...e-to-eye-gouge/

Is Meyer willing to let Florida become the new Miami of old? Sad, very sad.
Épée Fencer | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 3:55 am | #

SC; Is $C at home this Sat. against Arizona? If so, will they fill the Coliseum. I recall the days lo so many year ago, pre PC, when the $C fans showed up in droves, 50K fans, 40k disguised as empty seat.
PS. Myers is an out an out bum. You don't get a redo on his review of Spike's action, and the belssing of the school AD, President, and $EC commissioner.
Frig em. Best move the Irish made, either inadavertenly or not, passing on that dooshbag.
Oh yeah, Morning boyz.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 5:14 am | #

wow - the post on attrition over at MGBLOG posted above is definitely worth a look.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 5:38 am | #

Totally agree about the UM blog post -- thanks for the link, torquemada. It was somewhat gratifying to read their acknowledgment of the Irish situation in 2007-08, but it was also a pretty humorous piece. Along the lines of what Brian used to write before I and others whined too much about the blind oracle, but not nearly as funny as Brian.

Épée -- I would liken Florida's situation more to that of Virginia Tech. The whole Marcus Vick stomping situation tainted my perception of Frank Beamer (and Kevin Rogers). Oregon's coach probably handled things better regarding the punch after the Boise State game, but there needs to be something in between a season suspension and a slap on the wrist.

LmnJello, was there much local coverage of ND's non-football efforts? The band, the charitable works, etc...
Louie | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 9:13 am | #

Hey Jim -

SC is playing ASU in Tempe this weekend. The Arizona game was re-scheduled to the first saturday in December and is at home. We usually end the season w/ucla.

If you don't mind me asking, which part of SoCal do you live?
WeAreSC | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 9:46 am | #

Wow, that eye gouge is bad... worse to me than the emotional punch after being taunted... that was raw emotion... this was pre-meditated crap... wonder how many times he has done that and not get caught..

How can the SEC not step in here...

Agree, Urban should no longer be on the ND list...if they are keeping one.. one half for that is a joke.. especially against Vandy... my goodness they easily could have given him a game or two.. they play South Carolina next week...
jmc | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 9:54 am | #

The funny thing about the eye-gouging is that early in the season, several ND players wanted to wear the new shields to protect from eye-gouging and I remember Weis making some sort of deal with the players who wanted to wear them. Clearly this is not a new issue.

I can't remember the last time an SEC coach suspended a player for any sort of real game. UGA is always suspending players for the first half of some Div-II opponent.

Of course on the other hand, you have Oregon basically finishing Blount's career over a stupid punch. There has to be some middle ground between laughable discipline and "no-tolerance".

What's the over/under on Floyd's availability this weekend? My guess is he plays a few snaps, but nothing significant. I think Charlie is supposed to address his injury this afternoon.
Michael (non-BGS) | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 9:59 am | #

Am I hearing that Crist tore his ACL? Can anyone confirm this?
Juanny Domer | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 10:19 am | #

I had not heard that Juan.

This recruiting class is impressive. Again, it will land the Irish in the Top Ten. When will the team finish in the Top Ten?

Let's hope we trounce Navy and come out strong against Pitt.
teo | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 11:48 am | #

I also heard ACL for Dayne, which would probably keep him out of spring ball.

canuck, watch Mangini announce Brady as the starter for their next game now that it's basically impossible for him to take enough snaps to earn $11mil in bonus money. The whole Browns organization is a joke.
Buzz | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 12:30 pm | #

Crist has a torn ACL. Surgery Friday. 4-6 months.

Sharpley now backup QB. Goodman, who played QB in high school, will work a bit at QB in practice.

Michael Floyd has been cleared to play.
DJ | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 12:34 pm | #

In addition, Robinson is doubtful for Navy and Allen is day to day. Bad news on Tyler Eifert as well in that his back problems are chronic and he'll have to rehab his entire playing career. If he were to get surgery, it would be career-ending.
DD | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 12:51 pm | #

Lets put 50 on the middies
StadiumDudeNamedChip | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:11 pm | #

Mike Frank on power Hour was worried that Crist would be out till midway through next year. doubt that. 4-6 months sounds about right. Assuming he works hard as hell (safe assumption) he should be good to go for August training camp.
The question becomes though: will he be prepping to be backup or starting QB for 2010?
oakvilleirish | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:15 pm | #

The injury bug is biting the Irish.
Put Goodman in the wildcat and go from there, worst case scenario.
SC. My Man. I lived in LaJolla for 7 years before returning to New Joisey.
I always liked SC, followed their program under McKay and Robinson, loved the fact of a true inter-sectional played yearly, find PC pretentious and condescending. McKay and Robinson both stated that UCLA was for city bragging rights. ND was for National bragging rights.
Carroll each and every year gobbles up 5* & 4* recruits like Paris Hilton gobbles up you know what.
Holy Moly, gwzimm, lush, Voice, MJOC, and Homer Simpson would coach that team to Nat'l Championships yearly.
Oh yeah, I hear Charger is a H0m0. Giggles and smiles.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:19 pm | #

we are a injury to jimmy away from 7 or 8 wins. crist always impressed me when he came in. we would win with him.
belocki | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:01 pm | #

Not to jump too far ahead of ourselves here, but is anyone worried about next year?

It's not a reach to think Clausen and Tate would jump to the NFL. This would leave us pretty thin and young at QB.

I've spent the last two years thinking "2010's the year," but now it looks like we could be rebuilding. Again.
Hal | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:22 pm | #

Hal,

The upside is that we are finally getting to the point where we don't have to shoot for "The Year".

If recruiting stays status quo, then we should be a good team every year.

And I'd imagine a top 5 QB will show up in the 2011 class, on the strength of 2 consecutive Irish QB's being 1st round picks.
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:52 pm | #

With Floyd back the middle will open up for Rudolph again as the Safties will be occupied with Tate/Floyd.
When MF went down CW went short possession to Parris/Kamura and used GT all over, long/short. Are AA/JA healthy? If not Hughes/Gray/Riddick is a good rotation. They need the work. With MF back does DK move to Parris spot?
Toma, Evans, Walker, Goodman: who plays?
.
MayoGalway | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 10:00 pm | #

It's not offense I'm worried about.
Matt '09 | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 7:17 am | #