If you're looking for some quality preseason reading material, consider "Here Come the Irish", a collection of really cool essays and articles pulled together by '99 ND grad Jim Walsh. It's even got a few BGS submissions from Pat, Michael, and yours truly. Check it out.
Quarterbacks? Check. Running backs? Check. Now for the wonderful wideouts.
GEORGIA TECH
Calvin Johnson. 54 receptions, 888 yards, 6 TDs. Returning starter.
James Johnson. 14 receptions, 185 yards, 2 TDs. New starter.
The big name here is Calvin Johnson (right), perhaps the best wide receiver in college football. Johnson is big, strong, has fantastic hands, and he's particulary dangerous on long pass plays to the corner of the endzone. He has been nicked up a bit in the past, but should be healthy for the first game of the season. James Johnson was the team's third leading receiver last year and has the chance to benefit from all of the attention given to Calvin, but James missed the entire spring with injury. Depth: Xavier McGuire has plenty of size at 6-4, 215 pounds and senior Chris Dunlap has a chance to step up from being a special teams standout. Another one-time ND verbal commit, Martin Fierson, snagged three touchdown passes in the GT spring game so he just might be ready for a solid year as well.
PENN STATE
Derrick Williams. 22 receptions, 289 yards, 1 TD. Returning starter.
Deon Butler. 37 receptions, 691 yards, 9 TDs. Returning starter.
Jordon Norwood. 32 receptions, 422 yards, 0 TDs. Returning starter.
The Nittany Lion receiving corp is led by a trio of sophomores who were all thrust into action last year. Derrick Williams (left), the consensus #1 recruit out of high school, was becoming more and more dangerous until he broke his arm and was forced to miss the rest of the season. This season he'll probably the be the #1 option on offense due to his playmaking abilities. Look for him to get a few carries out of the backfield too. Former walk-on defensive back Deon Butler helped replace Williams when he was hurt was and wound up leading the team in receptions. Butler isn't the biggest receiver at 5-10, 166 pounds but has good hands and his 18.7 yards per catch last season hints at deep threat potential. Jordon Norwood rounds out the sophomore trio; he was the team's leading receiver in the Orange Bowl and was very solid in the PSU spring game. Depth: Big-time recruit Justin King played some receiver last year, but will focus soley on cornerback this year. Still, he's an option if the team needs him. Junior Terrell Gordon adds a bit more experience while brief Notre Dame verbal commit James McDonald and incoming freshman and highly touted recruit Chris Bell add more size to the Nittany Lion receiving corp.
Steve Breaston. 26 receptions, 291 yards, 2 TDs. Returning starter.
Mario Manningham. 27 receptions, 433 yards, 6TDs. Returning starter.
Steve Breaston returns for his final year wearing the winged helmet and is poised for a solid senior campaign. Often hobbled by injuries, the star return man seems healthy and ready to be even more of a dangerous weapon in the open field. And as with the Notre Dame game last year, look for Breaston on a number of reverses this year. Mario Manningham (right) had a breakout freshman year and if he can improve his route-running should have a great sophomore year. His 16.0 yards per catch was tops on the team and he will probably be the deep threat weapon for the Wolverines this season. Depth: There are a number of names here familiar to recruitniks, but not much in the way of experience yet. The depth chart took a hit when Antonio Bass tore his ACL in the spring. He's likely out for the entire season and definitely shouldn't be back for the ND game. Adrian Arrington is the tall target in the Michigan arsenal and if he can shake his ankle issues should be a solid #3 WR for the Wolverines. Rounding out the group are a senior, Carl Tabb, and a redshirt freshman, LaTerryal Savoy, with a fair amount of potential.
MICHIGAN STATE
Jerramy Scott. 49 receptions, 722 yards, 4 TDs. Returning starter.
Matt Trannon. 40 receptions, 573 yards, 4 TDs. Returning starter.
Terry Love. 28 receptions, 430 yards, 3 TDs. Returning starter.
The Spartan receiving unit doesn't have any All-American players, but it will be one of the most complete groups that the Irish will face. There is plenty of experience and a good mix of size and speed. Jerramy Scott led the team in receptions last year and has started 22 games in his MSU career. Matt Trannon (left), who co-stars on the Spartan basketball team, is a huge target at 6-6 and also has good speed to evade tacklers. ND fans might recall his 65-yard TD catch and run last year. He'll need to become more consistent as he had 6 games last year where he failed to top 36 yards. Terry Love is a quick receiver who can do damage on shorter routes if too much attention is paid to Scott and Trannon. Depth: Kerry Reed is a JUCO transfer who started slow last year, but came on strong later in the year. He also led the Spartans in TD receptions. Carl Grimes, brother of ND receiver David, is a speedy threat with good hands and Ryan Allison is a 6-3 sophomore who didn't see much action as a freshman, but has a bright future with the Spartans.
PURDUE
Dorien Bryant. 80 receptions, 960 yards, 4 TDs. Returning starter.
Kyle Ingraham. 41 receptions, 500 yards, 0 TDs. Returning starter.
Selwyn Lymon. academically ineligible. New starter.
Dorien Bryant (right) is a speed threat with good hands who will also see the ball as a kick returner and rusher. His 1,561 all-purpose yards and 8 all-purpose touchdowns in 2005 highlight his versatility. Quick in the open field and with enough speed to be a deep threat, Bryant will be the top target of Purdue QB Painter. Kyle Ingraham missed the spring due to academics, but if he's back on the team in the fall, the 6-9 receiver will pose problems for defensive backs all year. Selwyn Lymon is a 6-4 blue chip recruit who was ineligble last year but should show up in the fall and work right in with the first team. He's strong and fast, and if he can learn the offense, he'll be a threat. Depth: Greg Orton is another 6-4 receiver who could work his way into the starting rotation with a strong fall camp. Just a freshman last year, Orton has a bright future. Angelo Chattams is a dependable veteran reserve and will add experience and depth to the Purdue receivers. Purdue has a fast, tall, and deep receiving corp, but the high expectations be undone if a few key players like Ingraham and Lymon run into any complications returning to the team.
STANFORD
Mark Bradford. 37 receptions, 609 yards, 6 TDs. Returning starter.
Evan Moore. 1 reception, 22 yards, 1 TD. Returning starter.
Mark Bradford (left) has been a bright spot on the Stanford Cardinal the past few years and this year should be no different. A nice sized target at 6-2, Bradford will be a leader on offense for Stanford and a quality opponent for the Irish defenders. Evan Moore has power forward height at 6-7 but must recover fully from a hip injury that knocked him out for the season last year in the Cardinal opener. If he's back, he'll be another quality receiver and a very dangerous red zone weapon. Depth: There really isn't much depth on the team behind Bradford and Moore. Marcus McCutcheon is the only other receiver on the team with a collegiate reception and he only has 3 to his name. One-time running back Michael Miller and walk-ons Charlie Hazlehurt and Kelton Lynn will look to round out the depth chart. Freshman Richard Serman has size at 6-3 and a track background that could translate into early playing time if none of the other receivers step up in fall camp.
UCLA
Joe Cowan. 35 receptions, 469 yards, 3 TDs. Returning stater.
Junior Taylor. 6 receptions, 109 yards, 2 TDs. Returning starter.
The Bruins return every single wideout from last year, but they lose tight end Marcedes Lewis and running back Maurice Drew, who were their #1 and #3 receivers. Brother of backup QB Pat, Joe Cowan was their #2 receiver and he will be back. At 6-4, he will be a tough matchup on jump ball plays and with 34 games played under his belt, is not new to the field. Veteran Junior Taylor (right) returns from a knee injury that knocked him out early in his senior year (a la Rhema McKnight) and will add more leadership and experience to the Bruins receiving corp. Depth: Marcus Everett missed the first two games of 2005 with an injury, but was still the 4th leading receiver on the team. He'll be fighting Junior Taylor for a starting spot early in the season. Sophomore Gavin Ketchum played in every game last year and if he continues to develop, Gavin and his 6-4 frame could play a bigger role this season. Incoming freshman Terrance Austin was a one-time ND recruit and has plenty of speed and quickness.
NAVY
Jason Tomlinson. 25 receptions, 445 yards, 1 TD. Returning starter.
Tyree Barnes. 6 receptions, 154 yards, 2 TDs. New starter.
I say that these previews are all about production, experience, and potential, but it is hardest to ignore coaching when looking at the Navy receivers. It's difficult to tell just how good they really are, since they're targeted so infrequently. Jason Tomlinson (left) is a veteran with plenty of speed and is a great blocker. He also has best hands on the team according to Coach Johnson. Tyree Barnes appears to be a leading candidate for co-starter alongside Tomlinson. Blocking skills tend to get receivers on the field early for Navy and has the size at 6-2 175 to be a competent one. Depth: O.J. Washington doesn't have the size of Tomlinson or Barnes, but is a speedster who could get behind the defense if the forget to worry about him. Kyle Kimbro is another big receiver who's best contributions so far have been his blocking skills.
NORTH CAROLINA
Jesse Holley. 47 receptions, 670 yards, 1 TD. Returning starter.
Brooks Foster. 0 receptions, 0 yards, 0 TDs. New starter.
Jesse Holley(right) is the star of this outfit, but also the only receiver on the team who caught a pass last year. A durable All-ACC honorable mention, the 6-3 Holley was also a walk-on with the basketball team as a freshman. On the football field he was the team's leading receiver, yet he only caught one touchdown last year. The #2 spot opposite Holley looks like it's still up in the air with Brooks Foster the early leader. Foster is another basketball team walk-on and starred on special teams last year. Like Holley, Foster is 6-3 which gives the Tarheels a fairly tall starting receiver lineup. Depth: Brandon Tate was the team's best returner as a freshman last year and might find more passes thrown his way in his sophomore season. The biggest receiver on the team at 6-5, 225 pounds, Kenton Thompson has high expectations from UNC fans but first has to crack the rotation. Freshman Deunta Williams was a big recruit who will add more speed to the receiver depth chart.
AIR FORCE
Victor Thompson. 6 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD. New starter.
Like Navy, the Falcon receivers are used more often for their blocking skills. Still, there are occasions when Air Force will throw the ball and Victor Thompson (left) is the best returning wide receiver on the team. The top two targets from last year are gone so Victor will need to step up his game in order to keep the threat of the pass alive. Depth: Mark Root is a bit taller than Victor, but hasn't caught a pass yet so his contributions in that area are still largely unknown. Sophomore Mike Moffett adds a bit more depth.
ARMY
Jeremy Trimble. 42 receptions, 535 yards, 4 TDs. Returning starter.
Walter Hill. 34 receptions, 410 yards, 2 TDs. Returning starter.
Army returns its top two receivers and Jeremy Trimble (right) should be the go-to-guy in the Black Knight offense. He's quick and experienced and was named an all-CUSA Freshman in 2004, while leading the team in receptions in 2005. Senior Walter Hill has good hands, is solid over the middle, and has experience experience but is more of a possession type receiver than deep threat. Depth: Corey Anderson isn't very big at 5-8, but the speedster is one of the fastest players on the team and a good kick returner. Senior Mike Castelli and 6-4 sophomore Elliot Emmerich had solid springs but might not see many passes thrown their way initially.
SOUTHERN CAL
Dwayne Jarrett. 91 receptions, 1274 yards, 16 TDs. Returning starter.
Steve Smith. 60 receptions, 957 yards, 5 TDs. Returning starter.
The best receiving corp that the Irish will face and probably the best receiving corp in the nation. Dwayne Jarrett (left) is the star of this ballyhooed group. One of the best receivers in the nation, the 6-5 Jarrett has size, speed, and with even more experience should have a stellar junior year. Joining him yet again will be the sure-handed Steve Smith who has over 100 career receptions for the Trojans. Depth: Patrick Turner looks to be the next big star receiver for the Trojans. Also 6-5, this should be his breakout year. Chris McFoy has never grabbed too many headlines, but started 16 games over the past three years and adds another veteran presence to the team. Ryan Ting shifted over from free safety but by November might be overtaken by one of talented receivers the Trojans brought in. David Ausberry is already big at 6-5, 215 pounds while 6-3 Vidal Hazelton was one of the most heavily recruited receivers in the nation. Jamere Holland and Travon Patterson add speed threats to a receiving corp heavy on tall receivers.
2006 Wide Receiver Analysis and Ranking
I hope the Irish secondary is ready and I hope tinkering with the pass rush pays off, because there are a number of impressive threats lining up at wideout against us this fall. If Samardzija doesn't win the Biletnikoff Award for best college receiver, it will probably go to one of two Irish opponents, Dwayne Jarrett or Calvin Johnson. And players like Dorien Bryant, Steve Breaston, Mario Manningham, Derrick Williams, and Mark Bradford are no slouches. Experience-wise, 8 of the 12 teams return two or more starting wide receivers, so there won't be a whole lot of wide-eyed newbies running routes against ND.
Honestly, I'm not too worried about teams with only one stud receiver (like Tech) but teams with two or more quality targets like USC, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Stanford, and Purdue will quickly reveal if the Irish pass defense has improved. Luckily, the Irish will face a talented receiving duo in practice everyday that I honestly think is as good as any in the nation, so hopefully that will help with the defensive preparation.
To be honest, I had a hard time ranking these units. After Southern Cal, who I think have the best receiver group in the nation, the #2 through #7 corps aren't all that far apart. Purdue is especially interesting. If Kyle Ingraham and Selmon Lymon are back with the team from day one, they'll combine with Dorien Bryant and Greg Orton to form a very talented wideout group that honestly could be the best in the Big Ten. Phil Steele's numbers (he ranked the top 66 wideouts) are included once again in parentheses.
1. USC - Jarrett (#2) and Smith (#7) are stars now. Turner (#57) and the freshman are potential stars.
2. Michigan State - No All-Americans, but Trannon (#48) and Co. are a deep and solid corp of receivers.
3. Michigan - Breaston (#35) and Manningham (#20) are a good 1-2 punch. Need someone else to step up.
4. Penn State - Williams (#14) , Butler (#49), and Norwood are a young, but talented trio.
5. Georgia Tech - Calvin Johnson (#1) by himself gives this unit a boost.
6. Purdue - If Ingraham (#34) and Lymon are back and ready to join Bryant (#18), #6 is probably too low.
7. Stanford - Bradford (#37), Moore, and not too much else.
8. UCLA - Cowan and Taylor aren't superstars, but have a decent amount of experience.
9. North Carolina - Holley (#52) will need someone else to make plays and help take attention off him.
10. Navy - Tomlinson will be a threat when Navy decides to throw and a great blocker when they don't.
11. Army - Experienced starters are back, but nothing that is especially worrisome.
12. Air Force - Not much in the way of returning experience or potential.
Next up: Tight Ends and Offensive Lines
How'd you do on our quiz?
1. Since the inception of Sports Illustrated in 1954, there have been 11 Notre Dame quarterbacks pictured on the cover. Name them.
The list of ND quarterbacks on the cover of SI reads as follows:
| Paul Hornung -'56 George Izo - '59 John Huarte - '64 Terry Hanratty - '66, '67 Joe Theismann - '70, '70 Tom Clements - '74 | Rick Slager - '75 Tony Rice - '88, '88, '89, '89 Rick Mirer - '90 Ron Powlus - '96 Brady Quinn - '05 |
"Neither Tom nor I had a choice of colleges to attend," says Creighton with a smile, "My father simply told us what time the train left for South Bend. And he added, 'and you better be on it.' "
And once on campus and playing in the team, the wealthy Miller didn't even start out on a football scholarship, much to the exasperation of Coach Leahy.
The eight stadiums are Comiskey Park (previously known as South Side Park), Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium (pictured right - squint to see the band spelling out "Irish" at midfield), Fenway Park, Briggs Stadium (later known as Tiger Stadium in Detriot), Shea Stadium, and Bank One Ballpark.
In four games against the University of Chicago, one-time member of the Big Ten Conference, the Irish went 0-4. The first game was played in 1893 and the Irish lost 8-0 to a Chicago team that was led by quarterback Frank Hering. The 1896 Irish team (pictured left) and 1897 team, now coached by Hering, lost to Chicago 18-0 and 34-5. The final game between Notre Dame and the orignal Monsters of the Midway was a 23-6 victory for the University of Chicago in 1899."I will stand for the fierce and continued spirit of Notre Dame teams. Spirit is the most vital of all football factors. They got this from the Fathers at Notre Dame and from Knute Rockne. It can't and should not be destroyed. During more than one period in Notre Dame's illustrious football history was this spirit in danger of destruction. But always, something or somebody would come along to revive it."That fantastic quote was written by none other than Grantland Rice. I haven't been able to find when or where this quote first appeared, other than this reference on Irish Legends, so if anyone can help track that down, it would be greatly appreciated.
The answer is a. 1920. Knute Rockne had the idea to bring back notable football alumni from great Irish teams of the past for the November matchup against Purdue. Over 12,000 fans were on hand to watch ND beat the Boilermakers 28-0 and see former greats like ND's first All-American Louis "Red" Salmon paired up with current greats like George Gipp (both pictured right). Perhaps the best line about the event is this one from an Irish Legends description of the weekend.Homecoming wasn't restricted to former athletes, because more than 600 alumni showed up for the three-day celebration. Most of them cheered when it was announced that the Oliver Hotel (reunion headquarters) had seceded from the United States for the weekend, effectively eliminating enforcement of the Volstead Act (Prohibition).12. The running backs on the 1990 team were about as talented a collection as Notre Dame has ever had. The depth chart included Jerome Bettis, Ricky Watters, Rodney Culver, Tony Brooks, Reggie Brooks, and Dorsey Levens. Which one led the team in rushing? (question thanks to K. Mullaney)
"The Phantom" was the author of pre-game motivational letter that each Irish football player found in his locker in the days leading up to that week's game. The true identity of "The Phantom" was never revealed as far as I can determine. Some thought it was Parseghian himself, although it could have been an assistant coach.Irish! You are hurting...but unbowed and unbeaten. There are no sophmores on our squad. Having lived and fought your way back against Michigan State made all of you grow up...beyond any point of inexperience.
I remember 1964 in this same Coliseum, the Irish squad walking the long, empty walk from the field to the tunnel after our defeat. I remember their full-grown bodies -- shaking with sobs of dejection. I recall the fantastic turn of events that robbed us of a national championship. We never cried FOUL!
We're going back there. The odds are these: They are a good wound, quick football team on their home turf. We must travel there and play in warm weather. We must overcome their advantages. We are fighters-hurt tho we may be! We are aware of all the obstacles, all the memories. Go, Irish-become undefeated!!! The champions you are!
15. Who holds the NCAA record for most career touchdowns on interceptions, punt returns, and kickoff returns, with a total of 9? The player must have had at least one TD in each category. (question thanks to Joe Donovan)So the overall record of Notre Dame against Heisman winners was a not-surprising 5-17-2. When you mix in the ND Heisman honorees, 44% of all the Heisman winners (31 of 71) played in a Notre Dame game in their Heisman-winning season.
1939 - Nile Kinnick (Iowa)
1945 - Doc Blanchard (Army)
1946 - Glenn Davis (Army) - T
1952 - Billy Vessels (Oklahoma) - W
1958 - Pete Dawkins (Army)
1960 - Joe Bellino (Navy)
1961 - Ernie Davis (Syracuse) - W
1963 - Roger Staubach (Navy)
1965 - Mike Garrett (USC) - W
1968 - O.J. Simpson (USC) - T
1972 - Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska)
1976 - Tony Dorsett (Pitt)1977 - Earl Cambell (Texas) - W
1979 - Charles White (USC)
1981 - Marcus Allen (USC)
1991 - Desmond Howard (Michigan)
1993 - Charlie Ward (FSU) - W
1994 - Rashaan Salaam (Colorado)
1995 - Eddie George (Ohio State)
1997 - Charles Woodson (Michigan)
2001 - Eric Crouch (Nebraska)
2002 - Carson Palmer (USC)
2004 - Matt Leinart (USC)
2005 - Reggie Bush (USC)
18. Why did the late Dave Huffman wear red elbow pads while manning the center position for the Irish in the 1970's? (question thanks to Tom Hedrick)Lotto results care of the BGS informal poll. Good response; we had over 1,000 legitimate entries (I say 'legitimate' because some clown decided to enter six tickets won, none requested on about a hundred surveys. We sleuthed him out. Who does he think he's dealing with, a bunch of morans?)
Requested & Won are in numbers of tickets.
| Regular Alum | Sorin Society | Monogram | |||||||
| Game | Req | Won | % | Req | Won | % | Req | Won | % |
| @ Georgia Tech | 375 | 14 | 4% | 192 | 16 | 8% | -- | -- | -- |
| Penn State | 1325 | 100 | 8% | 682 | 606 | 89% | 140 | 112 | 80% |
| Michigan | 1183 | 146 | 12% | 632 | 560 | 89% | 138 | 128 | 93% |
| @ Michigan State | 124 | 30 | 24% | 100 | 40 | 40% | -- | -- | -- |
| Purdue | 688 | 129 | 19% | 436 | 380 | 87% | 100 | 100 | 100% |
| Stanford | 540 | 52 | 10% | 424 | 336 | 79% | 88 | 88 | 100% |
| UCLA | 910 | 209 | 23% | 594 | 550 | 93% | 118 | 116 | 98% |
| @ Navy (Baltimore) | 435 | 269 | 62% | 232 | 168 | 72% | -- | -- | -- |
| North Carolina | 824 | 130 | 16% | 596 | 556 | 93% | 94 | 92 | 98% |
| @ Air Force | 107 | 47 | 44% | 52 | 16 | 31% | -- | -- | -- |
| Army | 490 | 119 | 24% | 418 | 388 | 93% | 66 | 66 | 100% |
| @ Southern Cal | 620 | 87 | 14% | 390 | 84 | 22% | -- | -- | -- |
Check out what just arrived via FedEx:
Remember this? The Official Joe Paterno Drink Tray, circa 1977! It's also the prize to last year's Pick Six contest. Our reader "Al" won it but I wasn't able to get my hands on one until now. I tried to buy it on Ebay way back when, but was outbid by a zealous Nittany Lion fan (I thought nobody would go higher than $6.98, but apparently there are a lot of JoePa kitsch collectors out there who got into a bidding war). Anyway Al, I'll be sending it out as soon as I've enjoyed a few beverages on it. Nothing protects your lap from dangerous Dr. Pepper suds like JoePa's visage. (Enjoy a Coke on his Cokebottle glasses! Etc.)
Anyway, this hallowed prize reminds me that Pick Six will be coming up again soon, and we need a prize for this year. Something like this. Or this. Any ideas?
Full rules and entry forms for the Pick Six coming as soon as the AP unveils its preseason top 25. In the meantime, you can always use Orson's methodology to generate your own top 25. Here's what I came up with using the EDSBS crib sheet:
Number one. WHEW! Hard one here. Make things easier on yourself by just putting a.) last year’s champion here if they’ve got the same quarterback, or b.) Grab a team that won a BCS game last year and still has the same quarterback. You won’t look too crazy by doing either. If last year’s champ has lost their quarterback, move to slot 5 AUTOMATICALLY.
1. Ohio State
Another easy one! Remember number two at the end of the year last year? You got it: just slide ‘em in here and keep rolling, rockstar.
2. Southern Cal
Okay, tricky one at three, one that might require one or two GOOGLE SEARCHES. The team that won their big BCS bowl game last year by a shocker? Roll ‘em right in. SPECIAL NEW YORK TIMES PROVISION: this is where you put Michigan. Because you know a guy who went there, and he was pretty smart and cool and all that, and you didn’t really have a good football team where you went to school since lacrosse was really the thing there.
3. West Virginia
Another research one: take a team that’s a traditional power in the top ten. Did they go 8-4 last year? Or something like it? Okay, that’s your pick!
4. Penn State
(RESERVED FOR LAST YEAR’S CHAMP MINUS QUARTERBACK. IF ABSENT, INSERT TENNESSEE.)
5. Texas
A really easy one for the ol’ seis-spot: NOTRE DAME. They’re on television all the time and they had that movie with the kid from Goonies in it, plus they score like crazy these days. Even if they fall from the top ten you’re actually creating content for yourself, since you can then write one of your standard pairs of filler columns, the “wake up the echoes” preseason Notre Dame column/ “what the hell happened to the goddamn echoes” post-season Notre Dame column.
6. ND
Time to get bold here. Got a program that’s won a ton of games but never a big one? An offensive juggernaut whose almost beat significant opponents on a national stage but racks up fifty and sixty points on the midgets of the world? Seven is the place for them. It gives you BOLD pundit points and must be accompanied by a phrase of great certainty, like “This is the year they get it done.” If you hedge, just put Michigan in here and move on.
7. TCU
Find out who the SEC champion was last year. Go ahead and put them here.
8. Georgia
This is always a good place to put a Larry Coker-era Miami team. If not, have you considered putting Florida State here? They’re always a nice place holder, too.
9. Miami
Have you put all your Florida teams in the top ten? It’s essential to put them all in your to ten, if only to put them lower in your post-season poll, which then–thinking ahead!–gives you still more column filler in the form of “Sunshine State ain’t so sunny anymore” piece. If you hesitate to do this, again, just put Michigan here if you havent’ used them already.
10. Florida
11-25: A little secret of the trade….no one reads these. No one. The only people who will read them in total are basement-dwelling slobboids who will then write 13 page screeds in response to your critical underestimation of Clemson/Cal/Northwestern/Louisville/Tech/Florida/etc...In reality, you will simply take the next fifteen teams you can name off the top of your head and rattle them off on the page, just listing them in no particular order and tagging each one with the only thing you can remember about them at the time.
Okay, here goes...11. Virginia Tech, 12. Oregon, 13. Florida State, 14. Michigan, 15. Auburn, 16. Wisconsin, 17. Louisville, 18. Fresno State...uhh...19. Oklahoma, 20. Cal...let's see...21. Alabama...shit. 22 UCLA? 23. let's go with Clemson, then...crap, forgot LSU. They should be a lot higher, but oh well. 24. LSU and 25...Oklahoma. Wait, used them already...okay, 25. Nebraska. Done. Whew.
It seems silly, but I don't doubt a lot of "pundits" fill out their ballots that way...and not just in the preseason, but probably every damn week of the season, too.
A quick roundup of various ND-related items that came across the BGS wire in the past few weeks...
• Former fullback/defensive end Nate Schiccatano is transfering to Temple to finish off his final season of eligibilty. Nate is taking advantage of the new NCAA rule that allows players who have already graduated to transfer to another college and play football right away. Calling him a "transfer" is a bit odd since he did graduate and wasn't invited back for a 5th year, but the good news is he gets to play right away at Temple and I wish him all the best.
I suspect that in the coming years we'll see a few more ND players take this option. Will we ever see a player from another smaller school, a defensive tackle perhaps, transfer into ND for his final year of eligibility? I'm still not sold on this rule because I just don't trust many coaches to have their players' best interests in mind, but so far it seems to be going ok.
• Speaking of transfers, Notre Dame just picked one up in the form of Northwestern offensive lineman Thomas Bemenderfer. Thomas, who is from the South Bend area and had an older brother who was a walk-on, will have to sit out a year before suiting up for the football team. I imagine he'll be a walk-on initially, but with no offensive lineman in the junior and sophomore classes, every little bit of depth helps. The 6-5, 280-pound Bemenderfer didn't play last year as a freshman, so he should have three years of eligibility left after sitting out his transfer year.
• Renewed interest in the program is hitting all parts of South Bend, including the airport. Last year parking was tight at the airport for private planes in for the ND/USC game (those poor unfortunate souls) and with big expectations for the upcoming Penn State and Michigan games, the South Bend airport decided to expand the parking.
• Coach Weis recently joined previous ND coaches Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian for a Kickoff for Charity event that raised an estimated $1 million. Regis (who else?) emceed the $1000 a plate event that helped to raise money for the three pet charities of the three coaches; Hannah and Friends, The Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, and The Lou Holtz Foundation. Check out the first link for a video news story on the event."We've already [received] a large number of requests for hotel reservations and rental cars from people who are our regular clients," Heiter told the South Bend Tribune for a story published Saturday. "We're expecting at least 225 airplanes this year for the opening game, but we're planning for 300."
Schalliol said the airport's expanded apron, expected to cost more than $715,000, will be 1,600 feet long and 200 feet wide and provide space for about 100 planes.
Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis will coauthor a book, ``No Excuses," with nfl.com writer Vic Carucci, according to Publishers Lunch, an industry electronic newsletter. The book will include stories of his days as a Patriots assistant under Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.I'm sure Carucci did most of the heavy lifting on this so don't fret that Weis was pounding away at Microsoft Word rather than trying to figure out a better pass rush. The book is already listed on amazon.com, but no release day yet.
[BC coach Tom] O'Brien said Boston College might struggle to develop a natural rival in the ACC because the school is located so much farther north than the rest of the teams in the league. "It's something we've always fought," he said. "Ever since Holy Cross dropped football, Boston College hasn't had a rival. Our school thinks it's Notre Dame, but they won't play us anymore."*sigh*
Hit the big whammy in the ticket lottery this year? Wondering how everyone else did? If you have a minute, let us know your results by filling out this quick but unscientific survey.
2006 Ticket Lottery SurveryIf you sent in two applications, go ahead and fill out two forms. We'll publish the findings in a couple of days. Really curious on what those Penn State winning percentages were...
We've seen the Bomb, the Reverse, and the Play-Action. This brings us to the final nail in the coffin for the Fiesta Bowl: Antonio Pittman's 60-yard run off tackle for a touchdown with less than two minutes left in the game. A punch in the stomach that expelled our last breath of hope, it iced the win for the Buckeyes and sent us home empty-handed (yet again) after a bowl game.
The thing that really kills you about this touchdown is that despite being outplayed all day by the Bucks, the Irish were still only down by seven, and were in a remarkably good position to get the ball back and maybe get a chance to take it to overtime. On this series we had bottled up Pittman on first down, then sacked Troy Smith for a three yard loss. So it's third and eleven on the OSU 25, and we get a great pass rush (sans blitz), and Talley has his hands on Smith, and it's gonna be a sack, and they're gonna have to punt -- and we're gonna get the ball back only down by seven with two minutes to go in the game! -- and Smith spins and squirts out of the pocket and somehow finds Anthony Gonzalez down the right line for fifteen yards. And a first down.
Now the ball's on the OSU 40, with 1:58 left and the score still 27-20:
 | OSU sets up with 2 backs in an I-formation, White (89) as the FB and Pittman (25) as the TB; and 2 WR, Ginn (7) split wide left and Holmes (4) in the slot left. We've got our base 4-3 package in with all three linebackers. Our two corners are deep and Ndukwe (18) is playing up. Hoyte (39) is showing blitz. |
 | Here's a closer pre-snap read with Hoyte creeping up. Talley (99) is the DE on this side. |
 | At the snap Hoyte blitzes, as does Ndukwe from the safety position. With so little time left in the game, it's clear we're hellbent on making something happen. We're desperate to get the ball back so we blitz two men. |
 | The play goes away from Hoyte, so he's negated. The FB White draws a bead on the blitzing Ndukwe. Talley has crashed inside instead of engaging the LT Datish; was there some kind of defensive line stunt we were hoping to execute here? |
 | White ties up Ndukwe. Here you can also see Talley, Landri and Laws all bunched up in the middle, while Datish (50) is free to move to the second level of the defense. |
 | Datish picks up Crum while Ginn and Holmes will take out our corners. It's completely wide open on the left side: Ndukwe blitzed, Talley crashed inside, and Crum has been sealed off. |
 | Mays is the only guy unblocked and he takes a nice angle, but he's coming from the middle and can't run down Pittman. Holmes engages Richardson, hand-fighting as Richardson tries to shed the block. |
 | Pittman outruns Mays while Crum and Richardson are held up. |
 | And finally here's Ginn fighting off Wooden, while Holmes gets a last shove in on Richardson. Pittman pops through the hole. |
 | Once he's past the corners, it's nothing but daylight for Pittman. |
 | Touchdown Buckeyes. |
Once again, we give you the annual BGS Trivia contest. This year we solicited questions from our readers and got a slew of great submissions. Thanks to all who submitted a question, and congratulations to those whose question we selected.
So get ready to flex your ND Football knowledge. We made it difficult on purpose, so don't feel bad if you don't know many of the answers. And if you break down and use google (you weak, weak person, you) don't put the answers in the comments section. Give other people a chance to post their best guess.
Ready? Quiz begins...now.
"I will stand for the fierce and continued spirit of Notre Dame teams. Spirit is the most vital of all football factors. They got this from the Fathers at Notre Dame and from Knute Rockne. It can't and should not be destroyed." During more than one period in Notre Dame's illustrious football history was this spirit in danger of destruction. But always, something or somebody would come along to revive it."11. What year was Notre Dame's first homecoming game?
The 2006 opponent position preview marches on. With the quarterbacks done, now let's hit the running backs.
GEORGIA TECH - Tashard Choice. 2005 stats: 117 attempts, 513 yards, 6 TDs. New starter.
The transfer from Oklahoma, Tashard Choice was Tech's 2nd leading rusher last year and now gets the starting job to himself. He's a big back who is just as likely to try and run over a defender as around him. He also started against Miami last year, who at the time was the #1 defense in the country, and pounded out 84 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. He'll be a solid first test for the new Irish linebackers. Depth: Complementing Choice's size is the speed of junior Rashuan Grant, who also can be dangerous receiving out of the backfield. A solid change of pace back with the more physical Choice. Loyall Gause and highly touted freshman Jamaal Evans round out the running back depth chart. Starting fullback Mike Cox didn't run the ball last year, but was a very solid blocker and a decent receiving target with 13 receptions for 72 yards.
PENN STATE - Tony Hunt. 2005 stats: 174 attempts, 1080 yards, 6 TDs. Returning starter.
Another tough, move-the-pile running back, Tony Hunt is the type of player who defines "workhorse". Big and strong at 230 pounds, Hunt will wear down a defense and his 6.0 yards per carry average from last year is very impressive. He also pulled in 20 receptions and was the team's leading receiver in 2004, so he has the hands to be a receiving threat. Depth: Austin Scott hasn't quite lived up to his billing, but is still a dependable running back and a solid backup for Hunt. Like Hunt, Scott is a tough runner who rushed for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns in last year's Orange Bowl when Hunt was injured. Rodney Kinlaw adds another experienced running back to the mix and is a bit quicker than both Hunt and Scott. Starting fullback Brandon Snow is one of the better fullbacks that the Irish will face and while he doesn't get to run the ball much, he's a fantastic blocker.
MICHIGAN - Michael Hart. 2005 stats: 150 carries, 682 yards, 4 TDs. Returning starter.
Michael Hart battled injuries all last year but if he's healthy when the Wolverines travel to South Bend, he's my pick as the top running back that the Irish will face. A starter since his freshman year, Hart has plenty of experience and has an innate ability to always get positive yards and turn something out of nothing. He also has one of the best traits you can hope for in a running back: he holds on to the ball. In 432 career carries, he has only lost one fumble. All that stands between him and a great junior year is his health. Depth: Kevin Grady did a solid job subbing for Hart last year, but didn't quite live up to the high expectations placed on the high school star. Now he's lost weight to get faster and should make an excellent 1-2 punch with Hart. Freshman speedster Carlos Brown enrolled early and did nothing but impress. The fullback position will be manned by one of three converted players. Obi Oluigbo switched from linebacker in 2003 and while he hasn't played much, might be the starting fullback in 2006. Converted defensive lineman Will Paul or converted linebacker Brian Thompson, both of whom started games at fullback last year, will fight Oluigbo for the spot.
MICHIGAN STATE - Javon Ringer. 2005 stats: 122 attempts, 873 yards, 5 TDs. Returning starter.
Javon Ringer took off as a freshman last year and led the Spartans in rushing, even though he wasn't even technically the starter. Lightning-quick, Ringer's 6.7 yards per rush average is testament to his ability to get by the first defender, and no opponent on the 2006 Irish schedule is a better threat to break off a long run. At 5'9" he's not the biggest back, and he'll have to prove he can handle the poundings that come with being the featured carrier, but an off-season in the weight room should help in that regard. Depth: The thunder to Ringer's lightning is junior Jehuu Caulcrick who at 245 pounds is one of the biggest backs the Irish will face. He's plenty experienced with over 200 career carries and his 5.4 career yards per carry average is impressive. AJ Jimmerson redshirted last year and will provide a quality third back.
PURDUE - Kory Sheets. 2005 stats: 104 attempts, 601 yards, 10 TDs. New starter.
Kory Sheets is a dangerous running back who excels at running outside the tackles. He had the advantage of having Jerod Void on the team last year to get the tough yards up the middle, so he'll have to prove he can take over that role. But when the play is to the sidelines, Sheets has more than enough speed to turn the corner and beat defenders to the endzone. An honorable mention Freshman All-American last year, Sheets is also a threat out of the backfield and should build on his 13 receptions last year. Depth: The only other running back on the roster who carried the ball last year, Anthony Heygood is more of a fullback and may see some of those between the tackle runs if the coaches don't want to put Sheets in that situation. Purdue brought in JUCO player Jaycen Taylor for the spring and he put up 84 yards on 13 carries in the Boilermaker spring game. He will probably be the backup running back to Sheets.
STANFORD - Anthony Kimble. 2005 stats: 66 carries, 244 yards, 2 TDs. Returning starter.
Anthony Kimble was moved from wide receiver to running back prior to the 2005 season and started the first 6 games of the season for the Cardinal. But then he was injured and lost his starting spot to J.R. Lemon. Kimble's 3.7 yards per carry average isn't very good, but it was good enough to be the best average out of all of Stanford's running backs. Kimble also added 14 receptions and 2 touchdowns catching the ball out of the backfield, which isn't a surprise given his former position at wide receiver. Depth: Jason Evans was Stanford's leading rusher last year, even though he only managed the same number of yards as Travis Thomas (248). The Cardinal were awful at running the ball and rotated carries between a number of running backs, which kept everyone's numbers low. Despite being the leading rusher, Evans never started a game and didn't get a carry in the Notre Dame game. Depth: Running back depth isn't really there, although freshman Toby Gerhart owns the California high school career rushing record. Starting fullback Nick Frank is back for another year and provides a decent short yardage runner when he is used. He also is able to flare out and catches passes, as he had 17 receptions last year. Behind him is all-everything high school recruit Emeka Nnoli.
UCLA - Chris Markey. 2005 stats: 110 attempts, 561 yards, 3 TDs. New starter.
Chris Markey didn't have much to do playing behind Maurice Drew last year, but he had a great bowl game where he ran for 161 yards (although Northwestern did have the one of the worst run defenses in the country). Of more importance might be the 1,223 all-purpose yards that Markey totaled last year (561 rushing, 231 receiving, 383 kick return, 48 punt return). That kind of versatility will help Markey make an impact all over the field. Depth: Helping Markey out will be Kahlil Bell, who put up 316 rushing yards on 52 carries last year as UCLA's 3rd string running back. Now the 1-B to Markey's 1-A, Bell should see the ball a lot more and join Markey to form a talented Bruin running back duo. Michael Pitre is the returning starting fullback and mainly is a blocker but he should see the ball in the occasional short yardage situation.
NAVY - Adam Ballard. 2005 stats: 109 attempts, 668 yards, 6 TDs. Returning starter.
Navy doesn't really have a feature back, as they had 6 running backs with 40 or more carries in Paul Johnson's spread option attack, but Adam Ballard is the big name player in the Midshipmen backfield. The fullback bulldozed his way for 6.0 yards per carry once he got the opportunity late in the season, and he put up 488 yards in his three starts. Depth: Joining Ballard are two fast returning slotbacks. Reggie Campbell averaged 9.0 yards per carry over the season and scored 5 rushing touchdowns in Navy's bowl win over Colorado State. At only 5'6", he isn't big enough to fight off tackles, but he is hard to catch. Trey Hines is the team's fastest player, but injuries have kept him from running the ball too much. Speedy Karlos Whittaker was dismissed from team, so Shun White and Georgia Tech transfer Zerb Singlton will be the backup slotbacks. Last but not least, Matt Hall was actually starting at fullback over Ballard before tearing his ACL against Notre Dame. If healthy, he'll add more depth to a stable full of talented backs.
NORTH CAROLINA - Ronnie McGill. 2005 stats: 130 attempts, 530 yards, 5 TDs. Returning starter.
Ronnie McGill missed the first five games for the Tarheels last year due to injury, but still ended up leading the team in rushing and touchdowns. He also led the Tarheels in rushing as a freshman. Still, with 337 career carries and 1,654 yards he is definitely a veteran running back. Now he just needs to show he can be the feature back and stay healthy. Depth: Barrington Edwards started the season when McGill was out and notched 455 yards and 2 touchdowns on 114 carries. The LSU transfer will give the Tarheels an experienced backup to McGill. Justin Warren, redshirt freshman Richie Rich, and four true freshman, including Anthony Elzy, give the Tarheels a very deep stable of running backs.
AIR FORCE - Jacobe Kendrick. 2005 stats: 166 attempts, 532 yards, 6 TDs. Returning starter.
The Air Force wishbone attack produces plenty of yards on the ground, yet no player, save QB Shaun Carney, produced more yards than fullback Jacobe Kendrick. At 6'0" 230 pounds, Kendrick has good size and quick feet, although injuries did keep him on the sidelines for a few games last year. If he can stay on the field, he's a very dependable fullback with the speed of a halfback. Depth: Also returning to join Kendrick in the Air Force backfield are Chad Hall and Justin Handely. Both are speedy, but both also check in around 5-8 180 pounds. Still, they both have plenty of experience and Hall is Air Force's leading returning receiver. Ryan Williams is the backup fullback to Kendrick and actually was third in the team in rushing attempts last year.
ARMY - TBD.
Army was hit hard by graduation and the "running back by committee" approach just might be the name of the game. (You know things are rough when you can't find a good action picture of any of the candidates on the internet). Ricky Lay, who has switched from quarterback to wide receiver to running back, has size at 6'4", but only got one carry in the Army spring game, which is never a good sign for a future starter. Depth: If Lay or converted linebacker Michael Herndon doesn't get the call first, it will probably fall to one of four sophomores. Jamal Robinson just might be the starter by the time the Black Knights play the Irish but there is a lot for the small (5'7" 178 lbs) sophomore to work on. He is quick and shifty, but Coach Ross suggested he really needs to work on his hands. Sophomores Wesley McMahand, Jerry Jones, and Tony Dace round out the completely green depth chart. Starting fullback Mike Viti returns and his 4 rushing attempts last year are the most of any running back on the roster.
USC - Chauncey Washington. 2005 stats: ineligible. New starter.
No team loses more at running back than the Trojans, who must make do without Reggie Bush and Lendale White. Replacing them is likely going to fall to Chauncey Washington, who has finally been cleared to play after being academically ineligible his first two years at Southern Cal. Washington is certainly a talent and was one of the most impressive players during the 2005 spring game, but will need to show to the staff that he's able to shake off the rust of sitting out the past year. Depth: Ryan Powdrell switched over from linebacker and had a solid spring. At 250 pounds he is more of a fullback than running back. Starting at actual fullback is Brandon Hancock. Built like a professional bodybuilder, Hancock is more than simply strong; he's got good hands and is a decent threat running the ball. Desmond Reed, who injured his knee against Notre Dame's long grass, is on the path back to being a threat that averaged 7.2 yards per carry last year. Michael Coleman is the only other running back besides Reed who got some carries last year, but hip surgery kept him out for the spring. Rounding out an extremely deep, though inexperienced, depth chart are the five highly-recruited running backs that signed with the Trojans. Stafon Johnson, Emmanuel Moody, C.J. Gable, Stanley Havili, and Kenny Ashley might not all still be at running back by the November showdown with the Irish, but odds are one of them will be making a significant impact at running back.
2006 Opponent Running Back Analysis and Ranking.
Before writing this up, I figured that the Irish were facing a decent crop of running backs but I didn't really realize how much talent and experience will be running at us this year. There are no superstar types, outside of Michael Hart who should get a decent amount of pre-season hype. Yet there are plenty of experienced running backs, a majority of which fall into the so-called "big back" camp, and eight of the starting eleven running backs on the 2006 schedule totaled over 500 yards rushing last year. With a slew of new linebackers on defense (including a smaller-than-normal middle linebacker in Mo Crum) these big backs may pose a challenge pounding on the D for 25+ carries per game.
Another benefit for the returning backs is experience in the finer points of the position, especially in pass-blocking. Some of these guys, like Tashard Choice, Ronnie McGill, Tony Hunt, and Jehuu Caulcrick aren't potential All-Americans, but they will be better at picking up the blitzing linebacker than a rookie. With all of the concerns about the ND defense generating a better pass rush, having experienced and strong running backs staying in to block is going to present a nice obstacle.
So, how do they all compare? Once again keeping in mind that I'm weighing production, experience, and overall team depth (as opposed to fuzzier things like coaching systems or potential), here's my take on the 2006 running back units. As we did with the QBs, Phil Steele's running back rankings are in parentheses (he ranked 63 running backs) .
1. Michigan - Experience, talent, and depth. A great group of running backs led by Hart (#6).
2. Penn State - Two solid runners in Hunt (#19) and Scott and an all-conference fullback.
3. Michigan State - Caulcrick (#58) has the size and Ringer (#37) the speed to keep defenses on their toes.
4. Navy - Have a better running back corp than USC for at least the first week of the season.
5. USC - Like at QB, tons of potential, but very little in the way of production....so far.
6. UNC - McGill (#46) is a bruiser and the bench has experience (Edwards) and potential (freshmen).
7. UCLA - Two quality well-rounded replacements for Maurice Drew.
8. Purdue - Sheets (#54) is one of the fastest backs the Irish will face. Not much proven depth.
9. Georgia Tech - Choice is a tough runner and Grant adds some speed.
10. Air Force - Plenty of experience back. No real stars, but dependable veterans.
11. Stanford - No real threats. An average collection of college running backs.
12. Army - Looks like running back by committee to start the season.
There’s something in the air down South Carolina way. A whiff of panic, perhaps.
Fresh on the heels of Eff'n Gary Gray de-committing from the other USC (a change of direction so sudden, Steve Spurrier was seen writhing on the floor of his office crying “Aw, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. God. Oh, I'm hurt. Oh, my neck, my back, my neck and my back”), a local poo-flinging hack by the name of Larry Williams wrote a piece on Wednesday about how Irish carpetbaggers were pillaging the state, engaging in negative recruiting tactics, and otherwise harassing Clemson freshman Jamie Cumbie. The ironclad evidence of Charlie Weis’ underhanded scumbaggery was laid bare on the pages of the Post and Courier. Or not:
"They were sending me postcards like a month after I committed," said the 6-7, 255-pound Cumbie, who was a first-team Parade All-American. "The only school that tried to keep recruiting me was Notre Dame. It really didn't bother me."A professional editor thought this was a story. The receipt of post cards and a pre-commitment breakdown of the “advantages and disadvantages.” Damnable Yankee scalawags. This story was destined to become just another entry in the Encyclopedia Brittanica of paranoiac anti-ND hit pieces (no doubt pushed by an aggrieved competing program, as they often are), but a funny thing happened on the way to the septic tank. Charlie Weis got pissed:
Cumbie said the Fighting Irish coaching staff, led by second-year head coach Charlie Weis, also engaged in some negative recruiting on his visit to South Bend, Ind.
"They had a piece of paper, and it broke down advantages and disadvantages. It said Notre Dame was televised every weekend, every Saturday. Then they said Clemson has a horrible education."
"I find it quite amusing a student-athlete already enrolled at another university has decided to be the team spokesman on Notre Dame recruiting practices," he said. "We do not use negative recruiting tactics. If supporting Notre Dame academics can be misconstrued as speaking down on another school's academics, call us guilty.A couple of things struck me about this. First, the fact that Weis even bothered to respond to the story is unusual, only compounded by the fact that he absolutely smothered it in its crib. Second, the statement, issued through the SID’s office, reads as if transcribed directly from a Dictaphone. No Monkian Newspeak here. No polite demurring and gentle reminders of Notre Dame’s mission in all pursuits, football being just one of many. The message was unequivocal: “We didn’t do it, kid. Get lost.”
This is an obvious case of negative reporting against Notre Dame by other institutions. Maybe they should look in the mirror."
"I did not characterize our conversations properly," Cumbie said. "No one from Notre Dame, either in writing or in general conversation, said Clemson had a horrible education. Notre Dame made a comparison in different areas between the two schools, and the facts made Notre Dame look better. One of the areas was education. I am sure everyone makes comparisons during the recruiting process. It didn't bother me at all."Without getting into what those facts were and how Cumbie (now assuming the role of Emily Litella) dismissed his own astute assessment and chose an inferior Clemson, and glossing over the fact that it seems Cumbie's first instinct when something "doesn't bother him at all" (apparently a daily occurrence) is to talk to a newspaper reporter, what’s going on here? I will now get into hearsay and conjecture (which are kinds of evidence).
I find it quite amusing a student-athlete already enrolled at another university has decided to be the team spokesman on Notre Dame recruiting practices.Oh, snap! In other words, get your sh*t together Tim. The inmates are running the asylum.
The breakdown of the Fiesta breakdowns got me thinking more and more about how the '05 Irish performed in certain situations. Armed with the incredibly useful college football stats website I started digging around.
Here are some interesting, obvious, and not-so-obvious situational statistics from the 2005 season.
On offense:
• As noted on Sunday Morning Quarterback, the Irish aerial attack resulted in 43 passing plays of 25 yards or longer. That is more than every other top offense I checked, including Texas, (30), Ohio State (30) and Southern Cal (33). Even without the pure speed threat of a Ginn or Bush, ND's long ball attack was very successful.
• On the other hand, the rushing attack only managed a paltry 5 rushes of 20 yards or more. We know Darius doesn't have breakaway speed, and Weis clearly favored a ball-control offense, but 5 really isn't an impressive total. Texas had 37, Southern Cal had 36, and Ohio State had 11. I figure this number will improve this year, and I predict a few will come thanks to Munir Prince.
• The quarter-by-quarter splits show that the Irish offense was very consistent throughout each quarter of the game. The yards per rush averages by-quarter, by-down, and by-yardage were fairly similar to the overall averages, as were the passing numbers.
On defense:
• The big-play-given-up numbers on defense aren't great, as one might guess. The Irish defense gave up 16 running plays of 20 yards or longer and 29 passing plays of 25 yards or longer. To put this in perspective, no team on our 2005 schedule gave up more big plays than the Irish did. I'll go out on a limb and say that's why Weis talked a lot this spring about preventing the "big play" as a special focus of the defense.
• Another not exactly heartening stat. When the opposing team had the ball between the 40 yard lines, they averaged 6.02 yards per rush. Yes, that is best part of the field to be on the attack, but that number is still awfully high. By comparison, ND averaged 4.01 yards per rush in the same area. Is the middle part of the field where ND went into more of a bend, don't break defense? Either way, allowing 6 yards per rush is way too high if they Irish want to make a title run this year.
• The overall run defense, which finished the season as the 34th best in the country, had some really curious aberrations in certain situations. The defense allowed 3.94 yards per carry overall, but in the first quarter they allowed 5.26 yards per carry (on 100 carries). That number drops remarkably in the second quarter, where teams notched only 2.61 yards per carry (on 113 carries). The 1st quarter number is a bit high, but clearly whatever adjustments the defense made against the run worked well.
• When the Irish defense was putting the clamps down on the opposing running game, they were doing the same on the passing game. From the first quarter to the second, the Irish defense forced teams to go from a 63% completion rate and 6/1 TD/INT to 51% and 3/5. The pass per plays number break down into 9.1 yards per pass in the 1st quarter and 7.3 yards per pass in the 2nd.
• Keeping in mind the 2nd quarter defensive improvement against the run and pass, it's interesting to revisit the scoring done by quarters last year.
As was noted many times by analysts and various TV talking heads, the 2nd quarter was explosive for the Irish offense all year, and most attributed this to Charlie's early-game adjustments. But what didn't really get much attention was the fact that the defense also showed remarkable improvement in the second quarter.
Scoring by Quarters 1Q 2Q Notre Dame 87 145 Opponents 75 47 Difference +12 +98
We're halfway home in our Fiesta Bowl breakdown. After covering the Bomb and the Reverse, it's now time to look at the next Buckeye touchdown, on a play that gave the Irish defense trouble all year long: the play-action pass.
After Ginn's reverse put the Buckeyes up 14-7, the Irish got the ball back and promptly went three and out. The Bucks then mounted a steady drive that seems destined to put some more points on the board. But Troy Smith flipped away an option pitch on the Irish 14-yard line, and Ambrose Wooden pounced on it. ND's ensuing drive showed some promise, and the Irish fought their way from inside their own 10 out to mid-field, but the drive sputtered. Fitzpatrick boomed a beautiful punt and the Buckeyes were forced to start on their own two-yard line. That's where we pick up the action. Here's the drive thus far:
O 1-10 O02 OHIO STATE drive start at 04:37 (2nd).
O 1-10 O02 Smith, Troy rush for 1 yard to the OSU3 (HOYTE).
O 2-9 O03 Pittman, A rush for 3 yards to the OSU6 (RICHARDSON).
O 3-6 O06 Smith, Troy rush for 9 yards to the OSU15, 1ST DOWN OSU (LANDRI). After two solid plays by the Irish defense, Smith manages to evade Irish pressure, sneak past the on-rushing defenders, and jet ahead for the first down. Yep, you guessed it: the Buckeyes convert yet another third-and-long. Now it's first and 10 on the Buckeye 15. | The Irish are in their base package: 3 LBs and 4 DBs. OSU motions two men right, a tight end (Frost, 81) and an H-back (White, 89). Holmes (4) jogs in next to White, forming a 'bunch' on the right side of the line. Ginn (7) is split left. Pittman (25) is the running back. |
 | Post-motion. The Buckeyes look to be in a run-oriented formation on first down. Richardson (30) closes the cushion between himself and Ginn while Crum (40) slides over to the left. From the way Wooden (22) is standing, it looks like he has deep zone responsibility. |
 | Here's an endzone view of the alignments right before the snap. Ndukwe (18) is taking a few steps closer to the middle. Crum is lined up over the Buckeye tight end. |
 | On the replay, Gary Danielson shows the folks at home the route that Holmes is going to run, shooting straight for that gap between Wooden and Ndukwe. Richardson is very tight on Ginn, and Wooden is playing way off the line. |
 | Here's the snap. Smith begins the play-action fake. Both of the Buckeyes who were in motion stay to block, so Smith has 7 blockers in front of him. Mays and Hoyte do not blitz. Pittman releases into the flat on the right side. |
 | Here you can see Crum sliding out to cover Pittman in the flat and Wooden backpedaling, keeping both Smith and Holmes in his field of view. Richardson is blitzing. Zbikowski slides over to mark Ginn one-on-one, leaving Ndukwe as the lone safety in the middle of the field. |
 | After the play-action, Smith drops and sets. Ndukwe, who has taken a step forward, now realizes it's a fake and begins to turn to pick up Holmes, who is running past him. Richardson's blitz from the left was picked up by the Buckeye left tackle (50) and the rest of the blockers provide a nice bubble. |
 | With great protection, Smith throws long pass downfield. Holmes has about a 2-yard lead on Ndukwe now and is angling towards the middle of the field. Wooden is rushing over to provide support. Up top, Zbikowski is sticking close to Ginn. |
 | Holmes catches the ball at the 50, then veers away from Ndukwe and Wooden and cruises towards the end zone. Nduwke just isn't fast enough to make up the ground between them. From the bottom of the screen, Zibby comes flying in. |
 | At the two-yard line, Zibby catches up to the preening Holmes and tries to punch the ball out. |
 | But Holmes manages to hold onto the ball as they both fall into the end zone. Touchdown, the Ohio State University. |
At the fullback/tight end position, there is kind of a hybrid because they have three different guys that they use depending on what they are doing. They list (Stan) White as their fullback, but he is more of an h-back type of player. He will line up a little bit at tight end and fullback. (Marcel) Frost, he saw his first action, I think I saw his first action in the Iowa game. He came to Ohio State as a defensive lineman but he is more of a receiving tight end.We asked Keith from Buckeye Commentary if he agreed with this assesement.
I think it's accurate to call Stan White, Jr. a H-Back. He does line up at TE on occasion but he more of a FB for us who is adept at catching balls out of the backfield. Last year, Ryan Hamby was, at least originally, our #1 TE then following him was Marcel Frost. Marcel is more of receiving TE at this point in his career.So the Buckeyes brought in personnel that included a fullback moonlighting as a tight end and someone known more as a receiving tight end -- and then had them both block. Knowing that both White and Frost are adept at catching the ball, the defense couldn't just write them off and focus on the other receivers. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the linebackers didn't just rush in after Holmes.
As far as this play is concerned, I focused on it quite a bit in my post game analysis. I think it's a great example of setting up a defense. Ohio State lined up in this 'diamond formation' twice before in the first half (here and here). But, we ran Pittman the first two times and when the Notre Dame defenders saw the formation for the third time in the same half, it's only natural to recall the previous two plays. Ndukwe seemed to be on his tiptoes anticipating the run, eager to crash the line of scrimmage which allowed Santonio Holmes to run by him. A nearly perfect pass let Holmes keep his separation and finish off the play.Good points by Keith about setting up the play with the run. It's easy with hindsight to say that the Irish should have been ready for the play-action, but recognizing that during the flow of the game isn't quite the same thing. Still, it's interesting to note that Charlie also ran the play-action pass out of this exact same formation during the regular season (which resulted in a 9-yard pass to Samardzija.)
As we did last year, here's our position by position preview of the 2006 Irish opponents. First up, the quarterbacks.
GEORGIA TECH - Reggie Ball. 2005 stats: 182-379, 2165 yards, 11 TDs, 12 INTs. Returning starter.
Reggie Ball is one of those rare four-year starters who has gotten statistically worse every year. Each year, he never threw for more touchdowns than interceptions, and his completion percentage has dropped from 52% as a freshman to 49.7% as a sophomore to 48% as a junior last year. That last number was accomplished even with the presence of All-American wide reciever Calvin Johnson as a target. Still, Ball can be dangerous, as he's a mobile QB who's more and more adept at avoiding the pass rush. After being sacked 26 times in both his freshman and sophomore year, he was only sacked 8 times as a junior. His rushing totals aren't all that impressive for a so-called mobile QB -- career high is 384 net rushing yards as a freshman -- but until the Irish defense proves otherwise, we're still susceptible to quarterbacks who present the pass/run option. Depth: Backup Taylor Bennett started in Ball's place for the UConn game last year and appears to be the top challenger for the 2nd team job. Throwing for five touchdowns in the spring game certainly didn't hurt his cause. Redshirt freshman Jonathan Garner was a Top 20 QB coming out of high school but pushing Ball out of the starting job by the first game of the season will be very tough.
PENN STATE - Anthony Morelli. 2005 stats: 13-20, 155 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs. New starter.
Anthony Morelli is a one-time ND recruit who has bided his time at Penn State and now has the starting quarterback job all to himself. The junior's calling card is his strong arm, perhaps the strongest of any quarterback ND faces this year; when he was a freshman, he was once inserted into a game when the Lions needed to throw a long Hail Mary pass. The big question on Morelli is how he'll adapt to the mental aspect of the game in terms of reading defenses and recognizing blitzes. His two years studying the position certainly help, but the Notre Dame game will mark his first road game as the starter. Still, his strong performance at the PSU spring game has Nittany Lion fans optimistic. Depth: Morelli barely got in games himself last season and his new backup hasn't seen any action at all. Sophomore Paul Cianciolo hasn't thrown a pass in a game and frankly had a pretty awful spring game to boot. Pushing him for the backup spot will be redshirt freshman Kevin Suhey and hopeful quarterback of the future, freshman Pat Devlin.
MICHIGAN - Chad Henne. 2005 stats: 223-382, 2526 yards, 23 TDs, 8 INTs. Returning starter.
After a very solid freshman year, Chad Henne hit a bit of a sophomore slump. But I expect him to rebound and be one of the best quarterbacks that Notre Dame faces next season. His arm strength is top notch and as he enters his third year starting experience certainly isn't an issue. What remains to be seen is if he can improve his accuracy and touch on the shorter passes and become a trusted leader on offense. He can struggle on the road -- six of last year's seven interceptions came away from Michigan Stadium -- so that will be another obstacle for him to overcome. Still, he has the talent to make things very difficult for the Notre Dame defense in September. Depth: Redshirt freshman Jason Forcier is now the backup after 5th-year senior Matt Gutierrez transferred to Idaho State. Forcier is an extremely mobile quarterback but his passing at this point isn't probably where the coaching staff wants it to be. Forcier also hasn't appeared in a game yet, so lack of experience is also a concern. Senior career backup Jeff Kastl is another option but unlikely to push Forcier out of the backup spot.
MICHIGAN STATE - Drew Stanton. 2005 stats: 236-354, 3,077 yards, 22 TDs, 12 INTs. Returning starter.
Finally healthy to start the season last year, Drew Stanton proved himself to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. His stats suffered a bit during the annual Spartan collapse down the stretch, but he still finished the year as the 9th-most efficient QB in the nation. His combination of mobility, experience, arm strength, and leadership abilities mark him as my pick for the best QB that the Irish will face next year. He led the Spartan comeback against ND in 2004 and gave the Irish defense fits in 2005. He is a bit injury-prone, but when he's on the field, he's very dangerous. Depth: Brian Hoyer is the returning backup for Stanton and he's really the only one now with the transfer of backup Domenic Natale to Rutgers. Hoyer played in five games last year and even threw for two touchdowns so he's not completely inexperienced, but he's not exactly someone Spartan fans hope to see under center.
PURDUE - Curtis Painter. 2005 stats: 89-170, 932 yards, 3 TDs, 5 INTs. Returning Starter.
Curtis Painter didn't begin the 2005 season as a starter, but he replaced struggling Brandon Kirsch and ended up starting the final five Purdue games. A redshirt freshman playing his first year of college football, Painter understandly struggled and should show improvement in 2006. Still, he has a ways to go in terms of becoming a more efficient passer (96th in the nation last year). He's got some mobility, which should give Purdue a more legitimate option threat and help Painter get out of trouble if he can't find the open receiver. Purdue will need Painter to be effective if they hope to be rebound; after Kyle Orton threw for four touchdowns against the Irish in 2004, the 2005 Boilermakers only threw for 10 touchdowns all season. Depth: Joey Elliot is another redshirt freshman who hasn't taken a college snap yet. More of a pocket passer than Painter, Elliot was prolific in high school, but outside of a decent game in the spring game, he's an unknown as far as what he can do for the Boilermakers.
STANFORD - Trent Edwards. 2005 stats: 168-268, 1934 yards, 17 TDs, 7 INTs. Returning Starter.
Trent Edwards is the most experienced quarterback that the Irish will face in 2006, and also one of the best. He was having a very solid game against ND before being knocked out with an injury, which unfortunately was a trend for Edwards: injuries forced him out of the UC-Davis, Oregon State, and Cal games as well. When healthy, Edwards is a smart quarterback who can make long and short throws with ease. He should be a very strong leader for the Stanford offense in his final season in Palo Alto. Depth: Backing up Edwards is senior T.C. Ostrander, who ND fans might remember for his role in the scare at Stanford last year (11-15, 197 yards, 1 TD in relief of Edwards). With nearly 200 career pass attempts to his name, Ostrander is an excellent backup with experience and the skills that made him a 5-star recruit out of high school.
UCLA - Ben Olsen. 2005 stats: 2-4, 11 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs. New starter.
Formerly the #1 high school QB recruit in 2002, Ben Olsen signed with BYU and then went on a two-year Mormon mission. Upon returning he transferred to UCLA where he backed up Drew Olsen (no relation) last year. After pushing Drew for the starting spot in the fall, Ben hurt his hand and effectively sat out the year, only attempting four passes while Drew led UCLA on multiple 4th-quarter comeback wins. Now the starter, Ben has the size and arm strength to be a terrific college quarterback. However, after taking the two year mission away from football and then sitting on the UCLA bench for a year, Olsen might be rusty out of the gate. If he can get into a groove early, he should have a very solid year. Depth: Behind Olsen, there isn't much in the way of experience. Pat Cowan is the backup, but hasn't thrown a pass for the Bruins yet. He's big at 6'5" and even faster than Olsen, but likely won't be called into games unless Olsen can't go.
NAVY - Brian Hampton. 2005 stats: 6-19, 99 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs. New starter.
It seems lately that Coach Paul Johnson can just plug any quarterback into his option-attack offense and watch him have a productive year. This year the honor falls to senior Brian Hampton, who served as backup to Lamar Owens last year. Hampton played in all 12 games so he won't be completely inexperienced when he steps under center. Navy quarterbacks are rarely called upon to throw the ball so it's hard to tell just how Hampton will do in that department, but his arm is supposedly pretty good for a running QB; his lone touchdown pass last year did come against Notre Dame. As long as Hampton holds on to the ball while running the option and makes smart decisions with his handoffs, he should be fine. Depth: Freshman Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada is an extremely fast freshman who offers a better running threat than Hampton, but is pretty raw when it comes to throwing the ball. He is an exciting prospect and if he can avoid fumbling the ball, he might beat out junior Troy Gloss for the backup spot behind Hampton.
North Carolina - TBD. New starter.
The two challengers for the Tarheels' job are Nebraska transfer Joe Dailey (right) and redshirt freshman Cam Sexton. Dailey has the benefit of starting 11 games at Nebraska, but after throwing 19 interceptions versus only 17 touchdowns with a paltry 49.4% completion percentage he's hardly a proven college quarterback. Seeing as how Dailey was recruited to Nebraska as an option QB, he's very mobile and good when he's on the move, but at some point a quarterback needs to become confident in the pocket to succeed. Sexton is also a mobile quarterback who has a good chance to beat out Dailey, but has yet to throw a pass in college. He was a highly-regarded prep QB and was considered the backup QB as a freshman before a broken ankle sidelined him. Depth: The loser of the Dailey/Sexton battle will become the backup for the team. Joey Bozich, who was the backup QB last year and is the only returning Tarheel who threw a pass last year, was moved to fullback in the spring.
AIR FORCE - Shaun Carney. 2005 stats: 95-148, 1393 yards, 7 TDs, 7 INTs. Returning Starter.
Shaun Carney will enter his third year starting for the Falcons and the junior has the talent to be one of the top quarterbacks in the Mountain West Conference. While most Air Force quarterbacks of late have been better runners than passers, Carney is in the mold of a passing quarterback; while he did gain 720 yards on the ground and score 11 touchdowns, his strength is still throwing the ball. Despite a limited number of passing attempts, Carney completed an impressive 64.1% of his throws. However, his 7/7 TD/INT ratio isn't exactly the greatest and highlights that perhaps his decision-making needs some work. Depth: Jim Ollis switched from halfback and is the likely choice to backup Carney. Being a former running back, Otis is solid running the ball, but will need to improve his passing skills if he wants to be effective at the quarterback spot.
ARMY - David Pevoto. 2005 stats: 6-12, 68 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INTs. New starter.
As the backup for Army last year, David Pevoto only played in the fourth quarter of the loss to Connecticut. At 6'5, 229 pounds, Pevoto has plenty of arm strength, but accuracy and a lack of experience should hold him back some at the beginning of the season. For as big as he is he's decently mobile, so he should be able to move around in the pocket and maybe even run the occasional option play. Depth: Pat McDonald and walk-on Kevin Dunn are on the roster as backups, but many Army fans are excited about incoming freshman Carson Williams. The 6'5 QB turned down offers from NC State, Vandy, and Arkansas to attend West Point. If Pevoto struggles initially, maybe Williams will be the starting QB when the Black Knights visit South Bend in October.
USC - John David Booty. 2005 stats: 27-42, 327 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs. New starter.
Technically the starting job is still up for grabs; either junior John David Booty (left) or redshirt freshman Mark Sanchez could be the Trojan signalcaller come September. Booty has the edge on experience and for now seems like the favorite to take the job. Of course, the Trojans don't play Notre Dame until November, so it could very well be Sanchez under center by then. Booty was Matt Leinart's backup last year and the favored first-stringer in the spring before a back injury sidelined him for the nearly the entire practice session. A former #1 high school QB recruit, Booty certainly has the talent to be one of the best quarterbacks the Irish face, but his balky back and inexperience make him a wildcard. Will his tranistion to starter be as successfull as Leinart's, or will there be a drop-off production? Depth: Sanchez, another #1 high school QB, has earned nothing but rave reviews from practice sessions. Even if Booty stays healthy, Sanchez could beat him out. With more mobility and a bit more size than Booty, Sanchez certainly is an attractive option and a tremendous talent. Still, there will always be question marks until potential is turned into production. Junior Michael McDonald and incoming freshman Garret Green round out the talented, but inexperienced QB depth chart.
2006 Opponent Quarterback Analysis and Ranking
With all of the concerns over our pass defense heading into the season, the opposing quarterbacks the Irish will face this year is of major interest to ND fans. Last year's quarterback lineup was quite talented and experienced, with only one team breaking in somebody brand new. This year, we've got five greenthumbs (Penn State, Southern Cal, UCLA, Navy, Army). However, while the experience isn't there, the potential for this year's opponents is still sky-high. Consider that while UCLA and USC don't have a returning starter under center, collectively they do have the #1 high school quarterback recruits of 2002, 2003, and 2005. And even though that trio have only combined for 58 pass attempts to this point, all of them have the luxury of getting a few games under their belt before facing the Irish. How Olsen and Booty/Sanchez evolve could mean the difference between a lighter challenge, or facing a steady stream of NFL-caliber QBs.
As for the much-dreaded "mobile quarterback", Stanton returns and he'll have Irish fans holding their breath on every third down play. Ball has the ability to tuck and run when he needs to, but he lacks Stanton's accuracy when throwing. Painter is fairly mobile and capable of running the option from time to time. Both of UNC's quarterbacks have the ability to sneak out of the pocket for the first down if they need to. And of course, Navy and Air Force run the ball much more than they throw.
Now for the rankings of the 2006 QB units that the Irish will face. Remember that for these rankings I'm only going from the quarterbacks themselves, not who is coaching them or what kind of offense they are running. I'm looking at the skills and experience of the starter and the quality of the team's overall quarterback depth. With that in mind, here's my take on the 2006 quarterback units. I've also added Phil Steele's Quarterback Rank in parentheses where there is one (Steele ranks 64 quarterbacks).
1. MSU - Stanton (#3 in Steele's) is my pick for best opponent QB and Hoyer has a decent amount of experience.
2. Stanford - A talented duo at quarterback with plenty of experience. Edwards (#17) is a leader and Ostrander is starter-quality.
3. Michigan - Henne (#7) is now a veteran poised for a big year. Forcier is still a question mark.
4. USC - All the potential in the world, but scant production yet from Booty (#24) or Sanchez (#26).
5. Georgia Tech - Will Ball (#59) keep regressing? Bennett is a decent backup.
6. Purdue - Painter (NR) will need to improve his accuracy but should be another solid Purdue QB.
7. UCLA - Olsen (#53) has plenty of size and talent. Now he just needs to shake off the rust.
8. Penn State - Morelli (#57) has a big arm and now needs to show he can lead the team. Not much depth.
9. Air Force - Carney (#37) is accurate and a leader, but isn't a star as either a runner or passer.
10. UNC - Dailey (NR) lost his starting job at Nebraska and Sexton (NR) hasn't started a game yet.
11. Navy - Hampton (NR) should be another solid Navy QB, but isn't much of a threat against ND.
12. Army - Pevoto (NR) is pretty raw and there isn't any depth behind him.
Next up: Running Backs.
In Part I of our Fiesta Bowl defensive redux, we looked at the first quarter bomb to Teddy Ginn that evened the score 7-7. Following that touchdown, ND stalled out on a drive and punted; Ohio State took over but Troy Smith was sacked by Mays and fumbled the ball in OSU territory. ND recovered it on the 14. But the Irish couldn't punch it in the end zone, and ended up failing to convert on a 4th-and-2 from the OSU 6, as A.J. Hawk sacked Quinn. The Buckeyes' next drive looked like this:
O 1-10 O14 OHIO STATE drive start at 01:32 (1st).
O 1-10 O14 Pittman, A rush for 8 yards to the OSU22 (NDUKWE;ZBIKOWSKI).
O 2-2 O22 Pittman, A rush for 3 yards to the OSU25, 1ST DOWN OSU (LANDRI).
O 1-10 O25 PENALTY OSU personal foul (Sims, Rob) 12 yards to the OSU13.
O 1-22 O13 1st and 10.
O 1-10 O13 Pittman, A rush for 1 yard to the OSU14 (TALLEY).
O 2-9 O14 Start of 2nd quarter, clock 15:00.
O 2-9 O14 Smith, Troy pass incomplete to Holmes, S.
O 3-9 O14 Smith, Troy pass complete to Ginn, Jr., Ted for 18 yards
to the OSU32, 1ST DOWN OSU, out-of-bounds (ZBIKOWSKI).  | OSU comes out with 3 wide, 1 back. Holmes (4) split left, Ginn (7) slot right, Gonzalez (11) split right. The Irish do a pre-snap defensive shift here: Wooden (22) drops, Crum (40) moves wide, Ndukwe (18) shifts to the middle, Hoyte (39) steps inside, and Zibby (9) comes up across from Ginn. |
 | Here's Ndukwe cutting across to the right hash mark, as Hoyte settles into position between Abiamiri and Landri. We're in our base package here, with 3 linebackers and 4 DBs. At DL, Talley is shaded outside the left tackle. |
 | And here's the post-shift read just before the snap. With Crum on the wide side and Wooden playing so far off, it's a good bet we're in zone on that side of the field. Wooden has deep coverage on Holmes and Crum has the flat for hooks/curls. Zibby is up on Ginn, Richardson on Gonzalez. |
 | Snap, option right, Hoyte and Zibby crash the line. Zibby is clearly blitzing; from the video replay, it looks like Hoyte might have been blitzing as well, but it's tough to tell if it's a blitz or just a read and react. |
 | Smith pitches to Ginn on the reverse. Note Crum and Mays moving to the middle. OSU lets Talley go unblocked as the left tackle Datish (#50) slips out to block inside, but there's nobody to block as Mays is still in pursuit. Datish releases downfield to block for Ginn. |
 | Good view of how the misdirection works; everybody is moving right as Smith pitches it. |
 | And the reverse ties up 7 defenders (6 in view plus Crum) moving the other way. |
 | Along with Datish, the Buckeyes also pull left guard Rob Sims (#77) to lead block on the reverse. Talley, unblocked, takes a sharp angle right at Ginn, but Ginn simply sprints past him and turns the corner. Holmes cracks back on Crum just as he turns to pursue. |
 | Frame by frame on Holmes' devastating block. |
 | The pulling Sims gets out in front and engulfs Wooden (he's the inkblot of blue you can barely see behind the wall of white). |
 | With all the backside help blocked out, Ginn turns on the jets. |
 | Downfield, Ndukwe and Richardson will recover and get in front of Ginn, but with a sharp in-and-out cut, Ginn sets up a final block and makes it into the endzone. TD Buckeyes. |
 | Nice day so far, eh? |
Ohio State did run the option quite a bit last year - so much so I'd call it a staple play in our repertoire. The offensive staff would vary it by having Troy run the option to a pass. The pass would either look for someone deep or hit a TE or WR dragging across the middle the opposite way. Usually very effective.So this was a nice surprise that Tressel pulled from his bag of tricks, a call that exploited our aggressiveness -- especially after giving up another frustrating third down conversion.
We rarely ran Ginn on a reverse off the option. I believe we may have done it v. MSU in 2004 - but I'm not positive. When Ginn was given a given a rushing play from scrimmage it was usually an end-around. Troy would fake to the running back and as the running back carried out the fake, Ginn would loop around for the hand off. Not really a reverse since the ball never traveled in two directions.
What we saw in the Fiesta Bowl was a little out of the norm since it was a true reverse and it came from the option.
A fascinating story from the New York Times on the shenanigans at Auburn involving football players, phantom coursework, and the Tigers' version of kinesiology.
In the fall of 2004, [Auburn defensive end Doug] Langenfeld found himself in an academic bind. More than two months into the fall semester, he realized that he had been attending the wrong class because of a scheduling error. Mr. Langenfeld approached Professor Gundlach about adding a class, but Professor Gundlach said he could not help him because it was too late in the semester.The ruse worked too well:
Mr. Langenfeld then went to his academic counselor in the athletic department, Brett Wohlers, with a plea: “I got dropped from a class and need a class to stay eligible for the bowl game,” Mr. Langenfeld recalled in a recent telephone interview. “I need a class, and I’ll take any class right now. I don’t not want to play in my last bowl game.”
He said Mr. Wohlers told him about a “one-assignment class” that other players had taken and enjoyed. So in the “9th or 10th week,” Mr. Langenfeld said, he picked up a directed-reading course with Professor Petee. Semesters typically run 15 weeks.
Mr. Langenfeld said he had to read one book, but he could not recall the title. He said he was required to hand in a 10-page paper on the book. Between picking up the class and handing in the paper, he said, he met several times with Professor Petee in his office.
“I got a B in the class,” said Mr. Langenfeld, who started in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. “That was a good choice for me.”
Professor Petee’s so-called directed-reading classes, which nonathletes took as well, helped athletes in several sports improve their grade-point averages and preserve their athletic eligibility. A number of athletes took multiple classes with Professor Petee over their careers: one athlete took seven such courses, three athletes took six, five took five and eight took four, according to records compiled by Professor Gundlach. He also found that more than a quarter of the students in Professor Petee’s directed-reading courses were athletes. (Professor Gundlach could not provide specific names because of student privacy laws.)
The Auburn football team’s performance in the N.C.A.A.’s new rankings of student athletes’ academic progress surprised many educators on and off campus. The team had the highest ranking of any Division I-A public university among college football’s six major conferences. Over all among Division I-A football programs, Auburn trailed only Stanford, Navy and Boston College and finished just ahead of Duke.
Among those caught off guard by Auburn’s performance was Gordon Gee, the chancellor of Vanderbilt, a fellow university in the Southeastern Conference and the only private institution. Vanderbilt held an 88 percent graduation rate in 2004, compared to Auburn’s 48 percent, yet finished well behind Auburn in the new N.C.A.A. rankings.
“It was a little surprising because our graduation rates are so much higher,” Mr. Gee said. “I’m not quite certain I understood that.”
The results from the ticket lottery are out a few days early. Use the link here to check your results. If you forgot your login ID number, it's on the address label of your Notre Dame magazine and also available via Irish Online. Just a word of warning though. If your results mirror mine, get used to seeing the word "LOST".
| Quantity | Game | Type | Won/Lost | Section | Row | Seat |
| 2 | @ Ga Tech | Alumni | Lost | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 6 | @ USC | Alumni | Lost | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2 | Michigan | Alumni | Lost | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2 | Penn State | Alumni | Lost | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2 | Purdue | Alumni | Lost | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2 | UCLA | Alumni | Lost | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Let's talk defense. Specifically: the Fiesta Bowl. That game featured four long touchdown plays by the Buckeyes that had our defense bumbling around like the Keystone Kops. We've got most of the same crew coming back on defense, so if ND is going to make a run at the title this year we're going to have to figure out how to stop plays like these.
For starters, there was Teddy Ginn's 56-yard TD catch early in the first quarter. After the Irish scored on their opening drive, we were feeling pretty confident -- and then lightning struck. I remember sitting in the ND section of the stadium, and when when Ginn got behind the secondary, so completely wide open and alone, there was an audible gasp from the crowd around me, a collective uh oh, it's gonna be a looong day. Let's take a closer look at the play and see if we can't figure out what went wrong. If you can bear it, we'll also look at the other "long burns" in the Fiesta Bowl over a few more posts. Think of it as cathartic therapy...or masochism. Whichever works for you. So fire up your telestrator and let's break this down.
Situation: ND is up 7 to 0, 10:02 left in the first quarter. The Buckeyes are still on their first drive of the ballgame. Here's what's happened on this drive up until now:
Troy Smith has burned us for a couple of runs and the Buckeyes have converted two crucial third downs already, one on the previous play. It's first down Buckeyes on their own 44.1-10 O18 OHIO STATE drive start at 12:59 (1st).
1-10 O18 Pittman rush for 1 yard to the OSU19 (HOYTE;CRUM JR.).
2-9 O19 Smith pass incomplete to Ginn.
3-9 O19 Smith rush for 15 yards to the OSU34, 1ST DOWN OSU.
1-10 O34 Smith rush for 6 yards to the OSU40 (MAYS;ZBIKOWSKI).
2-4 O40 Pittman rush for loss of 2 yards to the OSU38 (MAYS).
3-6 O38 Smith pass complete to Holmes for 6 yards to the OSU44,
1ST DOWN OSU (WOODEN).
 | Ohio State breaks the huddle and lines up with three wide and a single back. Holmes is in the slot, and Ginn is split wide left. We have our nickel package in, as evidenced by the presence of Ferrine at the top covering Gonzalez. Pittman is the lone setback. |
 | Here's a wider shot of the field, pre-snap. Holmes is going to run an out from the slot, while Ginn runs a fly straight down the field. Hard to tell, but it looks like a combo coverage for us, with Ferrine and Richardson in man and Wooden and the safeties playing zone. It could be full zone, though. |
 | The ball is snapped and Ginn takes off. |
 | Here you can see Holmes about to make his cut. Ndukwe is clearly focused on Holmes, ignoring Ginn. Wooden is still looking back. Pittman has stayed in to block, so this was meant to be a deep pass all the way. Our two linebackers don't blitz. |
 | Wooden is eyeing the quarterback and/or Holmes, more evidence that he's in zone coverage, covering the flat. Ginn sprints past him. |
 | Smith is pretty much locked onto Ginn the entire way. Here we see Richardson coming across trailing Holmes, but Smith is clearly looking at Ginn downfield. We're only rushing our four DL, and against seven blockers we aren't getting any pressure. |
   | Holmes makes his out cut, and the defense breaks down. Ndukwe is still keyed on Holmes. Ginn is already past Wooden with Wooden still looking back at the QB. Wooden hesitates briefly when Holmes makes his cut. The big question: why did Ndukwe not come over to help? There's no WR in the middle of the field for him to be worried about. |
 | The ball is in the air. Ndukwe finally turns, and Wooden starts sprinting to catch up, but it's too late. |
 | Touchdown Buckeyes. |
Trivia time! We're prepping another quiz like the one we did last year and decided to open up the floor to submissions from all our readers, so send in your best ones (via email, please). ND football-related, of course, and the more google-proof, the better. All questions that we use will be posted with full credit, so start flipping through those ND books lining your shelves for good questions...and be creative!
Whoever submits the question we like the best gets a lifetime pass to the BGS Lounge.
The World Cup reminded me of something I've been meaning to post for a while. No, it's not that football is better than soccer; this is something much more controversial. We need to bring the Tie back to college football.
Hear me out. I know it's tough to get over that mental hurdle that says that in any contest there must be a winner and a loser. It's not really part of the American mindset to accept the brutal reality of a stalemate. There's got to be a winner eventually, right? But ties are good, in that they are truthful. They say something about the balanced quality of the opponents; sometimes teams are so evenly matched that neither deserves to win, and neither deserves to lose.
Some of the best games in college football history were Ties, and a goofy overtime with bastardized ground rules would have spoiled the pristine, elemental reality of those classic deadlocks. 10-10. 0-0. Important, almost mythical game scores in the history of ND football. The terrible beauty of the ND-Michigan State Game of the Century is the image of two teams, the best in the country, slugging it out until time expires, a battered and bloody and ultimately honorable standoff. As Ara implored in the locker room after the game, "We did not win, but by God, we did not lose." A cheap contest of "who can score from the 25" would have rendered the significance of that game moot.
Along with negating the possibility of a monumental tie, overtime also warps the endgame of a football match, in that last-second decisions to "go for it" have all but disappeared. Take the '84 Orange Bowl. Undefeated #1 Nebraska scored a TD with :24 seconds left to bring them within a point of Miami, 31-30. A one-point PAT would have iced a tie, and Nebraska may have gone on to win the championship in a vote. But to his credit, Huskers coach Tom Osborne elected to go for two. Turner Gill's pass was tipped and fell short, and Miami won the title. Despite losing the ring, Osborne's legacy was actually enhanced by his decision to go for it -- a decision that he wouldn't have made with the possibility of an "overtime" period.
In any case, before 1996, ties weren't all that frequent:
While most remember the on-field juggernaut Lou Holtz built at Notre Dame, many seem to have forgotten that only a handful of programs matched the academic performance of Holtz's Irish squads. Given that performance, the following quote from the promotional materials for Holtz's upcoming book is unexceptionable:
A standout is Holtz’s long-term position at Notre Dame, of special importance not just because of his devout Catholicism but also his refreshing devotion to strict academic standards for the players. In fact, what stands out is his modesty and adamant belief that football is ultimately less important than education.Thus I was surprised to see the following reaction from the normally astute guys at EDSBS:
Stop laughing. Really, stop laughing. Your boss is getting suspicious.
I can't speak to the academic performance of Holtz's players at other universities, but the empirical data regarding his charges at Notre Dame speaks for itself. Since 1981, the CFA and AFCA have presented their Academic Achievement Award to the I-A institution with the highest graduation rate among members of its football team. In Holtz's eleven years at Notre Dame, the Irish won the award twice (1988 and 1991) and received honorable mention recognition every other year. Since the award is given out in the spring, the award years corresponding to Holtz's tenure at Notre Dame are 1987-1997. During this period, the only other schools to receive recognition each year are Duke, Vanderbilt, and Virginia. Yet the snark regarding the above excerpt has not emanated from Charlottesville, Nashville, or Durham. In case you were wondering, neither Florida nor Michigan has ever won the award. Florida has garnered honorable mention recognition three times (1992, 1998, 2002), and Michigan has been recognized twice (2001, 2003).
A great article today in the South Bend Tribune on safety Chinedum Ndukwe, his family, and his path to Notre Dame. I'm going to excerpt a few passages for discussion and posterity's sake, but I highly encourage you to follow the link and read the entire article. It's excellent. As an aside, the writer of the article, Eric Hansen, has been putting out consistently great articles as the beat reporter covering the football program. In my opinion, ND fans and the Tribinue are lucky to have him. Kudos to Eric.
The main item of interest for the coming months is that Coach Weis has put Ndukwe on the Maurice Stovall diet.
"Coach Weis told me, 'Listen, if you're not down to 210 by summer camp, I'm not even going to let you on the field,'" said Chinedum, who played at 230 pounds in 2005. "I was 210 before I headed back to (summer) school, and I'll make sure I'm 205 when we kick off against Georgia Tech (on Sept. 2)."At 230 pounds, Ndukwe was playing last year at a heavier weight than linebacker Maurice Crum, Jr. That couldn't have helped him when it came to keeping up with opposing receivers. Along with more experience and hopefully improved communication with the rest of the secondary, a lighter and quicker Ndukwe just might really help out the Irish pass defense. He might not make the quantum leap in productivity that Stovall made, but every little bit helps.
"Coach Willingham and his staff were new," Chinedum said. "And I think there was a different mentality when it came to recruiting. It was almost like Notre Dame recruited itself, that you don't need to go out and get those players like coach (Charlie) Weis does.The list of recruits that probably would have ended up at ND with just a little more effort from the coaching staff is both lengthy and depressing. I really don't think anymore needs to be said on that matter.
"Now for guys who really know where they want to go in life, coach Willingham was going about it the right way. We just felt we weren't getting sought after. The other schools, they'd call you. There were letters. They'd show up at your school. No one from Notre Dame would ever show up at our school. So my dad was like, 'If they're not opening their eyes, go open their eyes up for them.' So I went to camp and tore it apart."
"I'll never forget an incident one time," Stephen said, "when Chinedum and Brady and the other boys came back to the dorm room after the game and they thought I was asleep. It was nice to listen to them marking out their strategy. They were going to go to a party and they were going to tell the girls at the party they were (high school) seniors being recruited. They were going to puff up their shoulders and act big. They had it all planned out."Personally I would have gone with the more obscure "I'm a fencing recruit" line, but hey, whatever works.
The first offensive lineman of the 2007 recruiting class entered the fold last Wednesday when Andrew Nuss of Virginia committed to ND after an unofficial visit to campus. Overall, Nuss is the eighth commit of this current recruiting cycle. And like previous commits Kerry Neal, Aaron Nagel, and Steve Paskorz, the interval from official offer to commitment was very short. In Nuss' case, he showed up to the early June football camp where the coaches got a chance to watch him work out in person. Shortly after that they sent along the official written scholarship offer and a week later, Nuss committed.
"I grew up since I was 7 years old saying I wanted to go to Notre Dame and play football," Nuss said. "I didn't know what I was talking about, but I said it anyway. When I got my first mail from them I thought, 'Wow, it's Notre Dame.' It's a dream come true for me.Although he's projected as a future offensive guard or tackle right now, the 6'5" 285-lb Nuss also plays defensive tackle for his high school and according to his coach, Mickey Thompson, will play even more on the defensive side of the ball his senior year.
"Andrew played both for us last year," Thompson said. "He has a lot of potential on the defensive line. The way our team was made up, when he took a break, it was on defense. This year we'd like to have him take his breaks on offense."It's way too early to say now if Nuss will ever play defense for ND, but that kind of versatility is never a bad thing. In selecting Notre Dame, Nuss chose the Irish over a host of schools that have put out quality offensive lines lately. Georgia, Virginia, Boston College, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Purdue, North Carolina State, and Maryland are among some of the schools that offered the high school junior. It's looking like Notre Dame might try to grab another five offensive lineman this year to complement last year's big class and bring depth back to the depleted OL ranks. As a guard/tackle prospect with experience on defense, Nuss sounds like a solid first step.
On the day we celebrate our nation's independence, it seemed like a good idea to celebrate our football program's independence. Remaining independent has freed Notre Dame football from the tedium of playing the same damn teams every year, given Notre Dame fans new travel destinations, and allowed the university to maintain its national profile. To that end, consider the geographic distribution of Notre Dame's regular-season opponents in recent years.
| 6 teams: | Pac 10 (Arizona State, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Washington State) Big XII (Baylor, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M) |
| 5 teams: | Big East (Boston College, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia) Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue) |
| 4 teams: | ACC (Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina) |
| 3 teams: | SEC (LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt) |
| 2 teams: | Mountain West (Air Force, BYU) Independent (Army, Navy) |
| 1 team: | WAC (Hawaii) |
