Man of Integrity | by Jay

Regardless of what they do, you are to handle yourself as a true professional, a true man of integrity. -- Tyrone Willingham, 9/24/05.

I'd like to keep this pretty simple, because I think there's only one new point to be made here, only one new revelation in the saga of Tyrone Willingham, Wronged Man.

It isn't that John Saunders is a muckraking, pot-stirring, race-baiting, libelous fraud of a "journalist". That's not much of a surprise.

No, the bombshell was more startling, actually, and it's one I never imagined transpiring.


John Saunders: You weren't just coming in and taking over a program that was storied and had stumbled on hard times. You were taking on a program that had stumbled into some scandal. You cleaned ALL of that up, and your reward was to get fired.

Tyrone Willingham: That's life, you know, and that's what I prepared myself for when I took over the job. They say that the microscope is big there. No question about that. But I prepared myself for all of that, and as an African-American coach, your position is somewhat tenuous. There are not a lot of guarantees, as a matter of fact, there are not a lot of coaches getting positions, period, okay, so tenuous may be an understatement.

JS: You weren't given the five years that other coaches got to demonstrate those skills. Do you think it is in part because you're an African-American?

TW: I've always said that in this country there is no absence of racism, okay, we're all aware of that, it's been here for quite some time, okay. And to think it would NOT factor in may be naïve on my part. But the people that really know that answer are the ones that we need to talk to.


This is incendiary stuff. To my knowledge, Willingham has never made such accusations publicly before yesterday, preferring to let minions like Alan Grant carry his water for him. But there he was, pointing the finger and playing the race card.

What is the claim, exactly? Let's spell it out. Willingham says that he was fired because of the color of his skin. Period. I don't know how you can parse what he said and come to any other conclusion. He refutes none of Saunders' inflammatories, and actually says he'd be naïve to think race wasn't a factor in his firing.

So, Father John Jenkins, John Affleck-Graves, and the Board of Trustees are racist, and Notre Dame is a racist institution? Ty's position at the Unversity was tenuous from the very beginning, because he's a black man? And in the end, his blackness got him fired? By his statements to Saunders on national television, he's allowing all of these accusations to germinate.

In truth, there is no evidence whatsoever that race played a part in Willingham's firing. The reality is that Willingham was an objective failure as a football coach. The evidence to that end is legion, having been discussed and documented here and elsewhere for quite a long time now. And while the tenuousness of the position of head football coach at Notre Dame is a very real phenomenon, it has nothing to do with race -- it's because the expectations of the job are so high. Ty's predecessors were under the same scrutiny; Charlie Weis toils under the same overwhelming pressure to succeed. Ty knows this. As he himself said on Saturday, "I make no bones about it -- I am very competitive, I like to win, I like to win all the time," and that's the benchmark for a ND coach. He understood the job requirement, and he didn't fulfill it. At no time during his interview with ABC were his own expectations for the football program at ND discussed, at no time was there even a mention of his track record "on Saturday", not one note about the record blowouts, the losses to inferior teams, the ineptitude of one of the worst offenses in college football (an offense that now, with all the same players, ranks among the very best), and the refusal to upgrade his own coaching staff. Although stewardship of the football program is line item A on his job description, there was not one word spoken about his track record nor the performance of his teams.

He didn't defend his record, because he can't. Instead, encouraged by a muckraker like Saunders, he put on the mantle of "victim", obfuscating the real reasons he was fired and tossing a hand grenade at the "racist" school that hired him in the first place.

A claim of institutional racism is insidious. It's an easy accusation to make, as it requires no actual evidence. Racism charges tend to stick even when they're unwarranted and completely unfounded. Willingham's claim is highly irresponsible, exploitative, and it's highly damaging, too -- in a few different ways.

First of all, and most obviously, it tears away at the fiber of Notre Dame. It slanders everyone associated with the school, branding them with a scarlet 'R', painting the institution as a despicable place where discrimination and prejudice hold sway. It's especially hurtful considering the moral principles and Christian tradition that ND strives to uphold, and it's ironic considering that throughout its history, ND has struggled against similar discrimination and prejudice itself (ND students fighting the Ku Klux Klan in the streets of South Bend comes to mind, as but one example). It's a cheap, unfair slander that nonetheless cuts very deeply.

Secondly, it belittles and dilutes legitimate claims of racism in our society. I think we all agree with Willingham when he says that racism is a very real problem; yet, when he applies the charge to his own situation, he's exploiting the real victims of racism to his own selfish end. He's trying to rehab his image, trying to save face, trying to obscure the fact that he was a lousy football coach and hide under the veil of a fictitious institutional prejudice. In doing so, he insults and disgraces all those who have struggled against actual racism in their lives.

Thirdly, as Sean wrote back in December, Willingham's just made the atmosphere a degree more difficult for other black college football coaches.

You're the athletics director at a big time school, and you're about to make a monumental decision. You consider all of this - the campuswide strife, the undue criticism, the selective tunnel vision of the naysayers. You ask yourself what would happen at your school if you were forced to make the same decision Notre Dame made. And you'll never admit it, but now the color of the coach's skin IS a factor in your decision.

You know, I never hated the guy. I thought he was inept as a football coach, but I bought into the image to some extent, believing Willingham to be an upstanding, honest man, and a role model -- if a little overmatched in his job. Over time, I began to realize it was all a façade, a carefully constructed public image that obscures the fact that he's a man of very little football substance. It's an act that keeps him employable, and it's an image he'll defend at any cost, even if it means unfairly branding as racists the very people that gave him the opportunity in the first place. (Look out, University of Washington.)

On Saturday, he pulled back the curtain on himself, just a little. It was uncharacteristic of Willingham to reveal so much. And what we saw was sad and pathetic, a desperate man imputing dangerous, irresponsible and unwarranted accusations. A Man of Integrity would admit his failings, formulate a plan to improve, and move on. When his team fails, a Man of Integrity would take the blame himself, and not hang his players out to dry. A Man of Integrity wouldn't drag his employer through the mud, even while that employer has made good on the agreed-upon contractual terms and paid a buyout numbering in the millions of dollars.

This is no Man of Integrity.

I don't know if this will be the last post on BGS regarding Tyrone Willingham, but we're hoping so. With Saturday's crucible finally over, and our series with UW ending, we won't be crossing paths with Ty again anytime soon. A new chapter in Notre Dame football is already being written, and it'd be nice to leave all this ugliness behind. There's football to be played, by God.

Week 4 in a Nutshell | by Dylan

That slam you heard yesterday was the sound of the door closing, mercifully, on the Tyrone Willingham era. All that's left is to turn the lock, which we will do later with a final "goodbye" to Ty, reacting to his disgraceful performance with John Saunders yesterday.

The game itself was disappointing, from the Irish perspective. Our offensive line seems to have reverted to its 2004 mode of absorbing, rather than delivering, contact. Our defensive line was not much better.Without more consistent pressure on opposing QBs, we will lose to all of the better teams on the schedule. 400 yards passing to Washington and their "5 games worth of experience" quarterback should result in night sweats in South Bend and deep, peaceful sleep in West Lafayette and Compton.

Southern Cal looks great even when they look bad. There is no reason, outside of some wishful thinking, to believe they will lose this year, despite their inconsistent defense. The good news for ND is that, of all the teams left on their schedule, ours is the best suited to beat them. Think Colts vs. Patriots. A shootout would be suicide. The only way to beat SC is to keep their offense off the field. Count on Charlie to put in a game plan that resists the urge to knock them out down the field (which we could), opting instead for short passes and generally maddening, clock-eating ball-control. Our only shot is to give Leinart enough time between series to get another pedicure.

Poor Purdue. The Boilers were giddy in the pre-season due to a once-in-a-blue-moon scheduling quirk that guaranteed they would not have to play what were thought to be the two best teams in their conference. Visions of a Big 1? championship danced through Pete's enormous plastic head. Then unranked Minnesota ran for 300 yards on their "We've got everybody back" defense and sent them to the first of their traditional three losses, and before the Notre Dame game! The humanity! Lawrence (Roman) Maroney shredded the bastages for 217 yards and left Boiler Nation wondering how, with their non-existent pass defense and now-suspect run stopping, they would manage to put anyone's farging bells in a sling.

Michigan lost. The early word from Madison is that it was not fair. It will be really unfair when Sparty (49 ppg) embarasses the unranked Wolverines by three touchdowns and drops them below .500. We must have a Presidential Commission to look into the unfairness of it all, before things get out of hand Michigan loses five games. Unfairly.

Louisville was exposed. They need to fire their AD for getting them into the powerhouse Big East and scheduling so many tough non-con games. Luckily for the Cardinals, for every South Florida, there's a Florida Atlantic to hit on the rebound. Lousiville might finish 10-1. Even if they do, they should not be ranked. Their schedule is worse than a joke. An unranked team in the BCS is something we should all root for. Burn it down.

Texas Tech spent another week gorging on the dessert cart, swallowing 1-AA confection Indiana State whole, 63-7. Don't let anyone tell you the Red Raiders aren't for real. Just ask the Sycamores, Sam Houston State, and Florida Effing International if Tech is worthy. Next up for TT is Kansas, led by Mike Mangino, the one guy in college football who knows more about devouring cupcakes than Tech A.D Bill Byrne.

While Purdue, Iowa, and Lousiville fell off our enigma-tacking radar, Georgia, Miami, and Cal remain. Are any of those teams any good? Flip a coin, and you'll be as well informed as the Harris Poll.

It's Over | by Jay

By George, It's West | by Pat

With the rate current recruits are jumping onto the Notre Dame bandwagon, imagine what will happen when ND wins a home game.

Oklahoma all-around athlete George West announced his intentions to sign with Notre Dame and in doing so became the 16th known verbal committment.

"I felt it was the right fit for me," West said prior to his game Thursday evening. "They have that swagger back in the program and their team chemistry is great."

An explosive, versatile player, West will likely come into Notre Dame listed as a wide receiver, but will be equally likely to put in time with the cornerbacks. At 5'8" 176lbs, West might be on the smaller side for receiver, but I can't help but notice that Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch is only 5'9". Oh, and that Joey Getherall guy wasn't all that tall, yet still had a bit of success at Notre Dame as well.

Forecasting either offense or defense for West isn't going to be easy. He led the state of Oklahoma in receptions last year, but he also tied for the most number of interceptions . He's also a special teams ace, which is where he'll probably make his first impact for the Irish. Last year he led the state of Oklahoma in punt and kickoff return yardage and so far after only 4 games his senior year he has 7 special teams touchdowns. In fact, Northeast Academy's very first play of the 2005 season was a 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by West.

A player like West is a great addition to a class because of his flexibility in playing multiple positions. He chose the Irish over offers to Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Baylor, Northwestern, Kansas State, Stanford, and Oklahoma State.

Safety Dance | by Pat

One bright spot from the Michigan State weekend was the verbal committment of two more high school recruits, bringing the total to 15. Leonard Gordon of Kentucky and Jashaad Gaines of Nevada both liked what they saw while visiting campus this past weekend and made their pledge to the Irish.

Gordon didn't even wait until he got home to make his choice. He saw enough while on campus to know that Notre Dame was the place for him.

"Coach Weis was talking to (receivers coach and recruiting coordinator) Rob Ianello, and I told my mom (Cassie) that I guess God told me this is where I wanted to be, because this feeling came over me," Gordon said. "I pulled coach Weis aside and asked him if there was any formal way to commit. I guess he didn't quite know what I was talking about, so I told him, 'I want to go here. I want to be an Irish Man'. He told me "Welcome to the family," and that they were really glad to have me."

Gordon is a 5'10" 185lb safety who also might see some time at cornerback for the Irish. Reports note his aggresive nature on the field and hard-hitting approach to defense. For his hometown Fort Campbell team, he has one interception so far this year that he returned for a touchdown after recording 94 tackles and four interceptions as a All-State junior. The heady (3.9 GPA) Gordon also plays quarterback for his high school team, which can only help him when it comes to adapting to the mental aspects of playing defense on the D-1 level.

With offers from LSU, Louisville, and Penn State, Gordon eventually chose the Irish over finalists Duke, Vanderbilt, and hometown Kentucky.

"I'm committed now, so I'm looking forward to getting there," Gordon said. "I can't wait to put on that blue and gold, and play."

Jashaad Gaines didn't pull the trigger while on Notre Dame's campus, but rather waited to return home to announce his verbal commitment to Notre Dame. The Las Vegas High star was rumored to be a heavy lean, due in part to the fact that his sister, Tulyah, plays on the Notre Dame women's basketball team.

"It was definitely a big deal,'' Gaines said about attending the same school as his sister. "But it definitely wasn't everything. I wouldn't be going there if I didn't like what I saw.''

Like Gordon, Gaines is a top student (3.9 GPA) who hopes to step in and contribute early at Notre Dame. At 6'1" 200lbs, Gaines will come in as a safety, but also has the size to potentially move to the Apache linebacker spot down the road. He injured his knee last season, but had a strong summer attending camps and combines and now looks like the type of player who flew under the radar a bit before having a great senior campaign. The other schools that considered Gaines worthy of a scholarship offer included Oklahoma, Nebraska, Stanford, Washington, and Utah.

From the sound of Gaines' coach, Jashaad is the kind of player that will try to make an impact wherever he can.

"He's brought leadership to our defense," Faircloth said. "He helps the defensive backs identify what the situation is. He adds a real positive chemistry to the team as far as being one of the kids that's out to help the other kids. He takes nothing and asks for nothing in return.

If you have a subscription to rivals.com, they have a nice little video feature on both Gordon and Gaines.

Dateline: 1949 | by Jay

Here's great story from Dawgman.com about the first time ND played at Washington, and the special home cookin' the Huskies tried to whip up:

The 1949 Notre Dame team that arrived by train at Seattle’s King Street Station was one of the greatest in history. They had gone 29 games in a row without a loss. They were destined to win their fourth national championship of the 1940s. And they featured that season’s Heisman Trophy winner, Leon Hart. The Fighting Irish were arrogant and possessed a powerful aura of invincibility, much like today’s USC Trojans. They were also reputed for receiving preferential treatment from referees.

So the Huskies kind of cheated.

Washington coach Howie Odell compiled a film showing a montage of Notre Dame players holding their opponents with no flag being thrown. Right before kickoff, Odell and Washington athletic director Harvey Cassill secretly held a meeting with the referees. Odell showed the film. No representative from Notre Dame was present. The Fighting Irish would subsequently be flagged eleven times against the Huskies, mostly for holding infractions. Their legendary coach Frank Leahy would learn of the secret meeting during the game and afterwards erupted in fury...

ND actually ended up winning the game, 27-7, and out-rushed the Huskies to the tune of 297-17.

While speaking to reporters after the game, Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy went ballistic.

“How could that be a good game when we had to play four extra men?” he said with an enraged tone of voice. “The officials today, all four of them, tried their best to even up a football game… If it was intended to be an instructional clinic, a representative of Notre Dame should have been invited. I believe the entire procedure tended to send the officials into the game with a superficial attitude.”

Husky Primer | by Pat

Dawg Stats. UW after three games:

Rushing Offense: 129.7 ypg. Passing Offesne: 230.3 ypg
Rushing Defense: 166.7 ypg. Passing Defense: 222.7 ypg

At first glance, that rushing defense doesn't look that bad, but then you break it down by game:

Air Force: 218 yards rushing
Cal: 286
Idaho: -4

That's not a misprint: Idaho is terrible at running the ball (186 yards after three games). So expect our rushing totals more in line with Air Force and Cal. On the other hand, Baer loves to stop the run, so maybe he'll try to contain Darius Walker, thus leaving the corners on an island. He tried this strategy against Air Force, who despite their option attack managed to get 207 yards passing against the Huskies. Washington's corners are both 5'11, so expect a Stovall redux if they try to single-cover him.

Strange stat: Despite being 1-2, Washington has only given up one first quarter touchdown so far this year.

Quarterback. Isaiah Stanback is mobile in the Drew Stanton mold, but doesn't have Stanton's battle-tested experience. Accuracy wasn't supposed to be one of Stanback's strong points, but so far this season he's managed a respectable 61% completion rate and a 4/2 touchdown to interception ratio. I wouldn't be surprised to see Washington try for a big play through the air on the first play from scrimmage a la the ND-FSU game in 2002 and the Washington-Cal game in 2005. Still, I have a feeling that the most productive call for the Huskies might be the broken play.

Running Back. So far, 6', 195-lb sophomore Louis Rankin appears to be the man for the Huskies, their leading rusher with a respectable 4.8 yards per carry. While's he not blazingly fast, Rankin changes directions well and is a tough, second-effort kind of runner who's not afraid to lower his head and try and run over tacklers.

Injury Update. From the Seattle PI:

Special teams players Ryan Campbell and J.R. Wolfork left Saturday's 34-6 victory over Idaho with undisclosed injuries. Willingham was uncertain of their status. Left tackle Joe Toledo (ankle), cornerback Roy Lewis (knee) and quarterback Carl Bonnell (quadriceps) remain questionable, and defensive tackle Jordan White-Frisbee (foot) is out.

The big injury question is whether Toledo's going to play. Due to injuries to Toledo and backup Chad Macklin (who moved from RT to LT, then got hurt), the Huskies have had a different starting right tackle for each of their first three games. The current starter is Tui Alailefaleula, a 335-lb guard who was just moved to tackle last week (after redshirting in 2004 following a shift from DL to OL).

And if corner Roy Lewis can't go, that leaves Josh Okeobor, a JUCO transfer who sat out last year with a knee injury, to start in his place.

Diedrickless. I think the biggest change for Willingham has got to be the introduction of Tim Lappano as offensive coordinator, the first OC in seven years for Ty not named Bill Diedrick. Lappano worked with Dennis Erickson at a variety of stops (including the Seahawks and the 49ers) and has been groomed on a one-back, spread attack, although he made a lot of noise in summer camp about wanting to emphasize the run a lot more. So far, he's tried to live up to that ideal, running against Air Force and Idaho (although the Cal game threw him off, and he ended up passing quite a bit since they were behind by so much). The Idaho game was probably a model for what he'd like to do in every game: run the ball 39 times. Husky fans seem pretty happy with Lappano's playcalling thus far.

By the way, the last time Lappano faced the Irish was as Oregon State's offensive coordinator in the 2000 Fiesta Bowl. That was a great game.

Implementing the System of Vicious Animals, OK? | by Pete

Well, it had to happen sometime. We all knew that it was too good to be true, there’s no way Charlie could lead us to the promised land in his first year, could he? It just sucks that it had to happen to those guys. The flag-planting, student-taunting, 5-times-in-a-row-home-beating Michigan State Spartans, I hate those guys. But we’re close, you really can’t lose a game in a much closer fashion, coming back from 21 down to lose in OT.

It always hurts to lose, but to be honest, losing this early may have its fair share of perks:

• If Notre Dame kept winning, the media frenzy surrounding the team would reach uncontrollable proportions. Lee Corso would begin making out with pictures of Charlie Weis every Saturday on Gameday, and Mark May’s head would begin to spin around his neck at 250 rpm while projectile vomiting. Nobody needs to see either of those.

• We get to escape the “8-0 Tyrone” comparisons early, and good riddance to those.

• If we had continued to win all our games, I think I would’ve lost my own self-control and gotten a life-size tattoo of Charlie’s head on my back. Mom, you can thank the Spartans.

• Now we definitely don’t have to worry about a let-down game against Tyrone’s vicious, 1-2 animals.

I remember looking over this year’s schedule with my dad over the summer, and that Washington game always terrified me. I was shaking in my boots because I had seen Tyrone Willingham coach, and I knew what he was capable of, despite his terrible coaching. During his Notre Dame tenure, Tyrone always managed to win the games you never thought he could, the games he had to win to call off the wolves over and over again. Michigan and Tennessee last season, Pitt in 2003 when Tyrone rode Julius Jones like a bucking bronco, except facing backwards and thinking Ryan Grant was an equally viable horse, despite him actually being a large dog in this metaphor. These were all games that Tyrone won when the team was on the ropes, looking like crap, and the mob had had just about enough. And then he won, and we all began to think, “Had we been too quick to judge? Is this last game a sign of the system finally implementing, the players adjusting?” We were all desperate to reclaim the magic of his first season, and each one of those wins managed to plant the seed of doubt that allowed us to believe in the molding of men and “THE SYSTEM” just a little longer.

This game terrified me because this would the perfect “Tyrone-Out-Of-His-Butt” Game, where Tyrone manages to beat a much better football team, producing a win seemingly, you guessed it, out of his butt. I was afraid that the abysmal Huskies would somehow pull in 50 interceptions and 84 fumbles, while the earth opened up and swallowed our starting offensive line. And then Tyrone would manage to win by 4.

This game also terrified me because, if it did become an “Out-Of-His-Butt” game, not only would the entire alumni network of Notre Dame, including Ferguson, throw themselves under the nearest bus, but the talking heads would NEVER stop talking about it. When College Gameday is brought to you in 2075 live from Mars, hosted by android Kirk Herbstreitron and the inexplicably still alive Lee Corso, this game would still be mentioned with a bit of smugness on the face of Lee Corso, but not Herbstreitron, he is incapable of human emotion. I really didn’t want to live out the rest of my life having to hear about Tyrone Willingham sticking it to the Man, the same Man who outrageously demanded that we not lose to teams by over 30 points on a regular basis.

Notice I said this game “terrified” me, it doesn’t “terrify” me. I’ve seen what Notre Dame is capable of this year, and I don’t have a worry in my being that Charlie is making sure to pack the woodshed when the team boards the plane for Washington this weekend. I fully expect Notre Dame to win in a more than sound fashion for a few reasons. First, Charlie knows that, no matter what he thinks about Tyrone as a person, he has to utterly decimate Tyrone the Coach. Ideally, he should make Tyrone the Coach weep openly on the sidelines while Kent Baer rubs his back. Charlie knows this because he not only is the coach, but he’s also an alum. He realizes the message that needs to be sent this weekend, namely, “See? This was the right decision,” and that message can only be conveyed with a sound, resolute beating. Secondly, Charlie knows that the anti-Notre Dame world will be watching this game with baited breath, just waiting for the ultimate in poetic justice, when Tyrone Willingham exacts his vengeance on the racist Domers. Charlie knows that, if Notre Dame loses this game, it will take a very, VERY long time for Notre Dame to gain any respect in the college football world. This is a big game, and Charlie realizes that. I think we can fully expect a well-prepared, angry, ready to prove something team on Saturday, and the score will indicate as much.

Here on campus, very little is actually being discussed regarding the game, but I think that’s because it seems like it’s such a sure thing. We all believe in this football team, and we’ve seen them nearly pull a game out in the end, despite all the evidence pointing to us deserving a loss. Charlie Weis and this team has earned our confidence and respect, and we do not expect them to let us down this Saturday. PREDICTION: Real Coach: Plenty of points, Fake Coach: Very few points, if any.

For those of you who still are concerned about the game, consider this: I was watching Around the Horn on ESPN the other day because I hate myself, and the topic of the ND-UW game came up. Woody Paige and Jay Mariotti stood up for Notre Dame, saying how it’s good for college football when Notre Dame is good, blah blah blah, but nobody defended the school in the firing. On the other hand, a bald guy and a guy from Dallas with glasses that make him look like an owl were quite venomous in their comments. Owl Man said he hopes Notre Dame loses by 50 or 60 touchdowns. Stat Boy, that creep, also chimed in with his hatred of Notre Dame and how much he’d love to see Washington stomp on the Irish this weekend. But quick, before commercial, picks for the game?

Bald Guy: Notre Dame.

Owl Man: Unfortunately, Notre Dame.

Mariotti: Notre Dame by 3 touchdowns.

Woody: Make it unanimous.

The experts, EVEN the ones that claim they hate Notre Dame, think we win this game on Saturday. Ladies and gents, expect a big win for the Irish on Saturday, but unfortunately, be prepared for the Tyrone Willingham Pity Party Post-Game, brought to you by Kleenex and Depends. You know it's coming.

Watch Out Where the Huskies Go | by Jay

Note from the UW press release:

Washington and Notre Dame have played one another only five times and the Fighting Irish have won all five.

Should we plant a flag on the fifty if we win this one?

Woof Woof | by Jay

First things first. Here's the ABC regional coverage map (in a .pdf), as several of you have inquired about.

This article from the Seattle Times is hilarious in at least six different ways. (For one thing, Kent, if you're talking about how mind games won't affect you, they've already worked). Time to play 'Spot the Irony':

While Willingham said heightened emotions can help a team, especially an underdog, he said a team has to be emotional for the right reasons and that playing solely for a coach isn't one of those.

"You've got to be able to sustain the emotion," Willingham said. "A lot of times you see when emotions are spiked in that matter, they don't last very long. They last the first quarter, the second quarter, and then it seems that the team runs out of energy."

More to come on the Irish-Huskies tilt.

Statistically Speaking | by Pat

Brady Quinn kept up his assault on the record books. His five touchdown passes lands him at #1 in terms of single game TD passes, surpassing a gaggle of Irish QBs (Jackson, Powlus, Beuerlein, Lamonica, Bertelli) who had four. It also moves him up to 3rd place all-time for career touchdown passes. His 487 yards passing ranks 2nd all time behind Joe Theisman's 526 yard day against the Trojans in 1970. From the "run to win" side of things, the top four passing games for Irish quarterbacks all come in losing efforts. For a complete look at the other records that Quinn is threatening to break, check out the pdf version of the ND/UM game notes from und.com.

On the flip side, Drew Stanton's 327 yards passing were the most by an MSU quarterback in a Notre Dame/Michigan State game. But, as can be said about Quinn's record, this series has historically been of the three yards and a cloud of dust variety, so the new pass-friendly offenses for both schools are obviously going to be setting new records.

Jeff Samardzija's three touchdown receptions tied a school record for most touchdown receptions in one game. The record is shared by six other players (Tom Gatewood, Jim Seymour, Jim Kelly, Jim Mutscheller, Bill Barrett, Eddie Anderson).

On the season, Samardzija now has 5 touchdown receptions. That moves him into a tie for 9th place all-time on season receiving touchdowns with 75% of the season left to play. He should quickly move up this list and has a great shot at taking the top spot when all is said and done.

1. Derrick Mayes - 11, 1994
2. Jack Snow - 9, 1964
3t. Jim Seymour - 8, 1966
3t.Tom Gatewood - 8, 1969
5. Tom Gatewood - 7, 1970
6t. Ken MacAfee - 6, 1977
6t. Derrick Mayes - 6, 1995
6t. Bobby Brown - 6, 1997
9t. Ken McAfee - 5, 1975
9t. Tim Brown - 5, 1986
9t. Jeff Samardzija - 5, 2005

Anthony Fasano is still moving up the tight end career reception list that was mentioned a few weeks ago. Currently he is in 4th place with 60 and only two receptions behind Derek Brown and Dean Masztak, who are tied for second place. After that though, it's a long haul to catch up to Ken McAfee who has 128 career receptions.

Season-long Running Averages

Offense

Category	Pitt	UM	MSU	2005	2004
Yards per rush	5.5	2.4	2.8	3.7	3.32
Avg yards per pass attempt	8.4	4.7	8.1	7.3	7.2
Avg yards per pass completion	11.0	11.7	14.8	12.2	13.4
Pass completion percentage	67%	63%	55%	60%	54%
Third Down conversions	10/15 (67%)	4/15 (27%)	6/18 (33%)	20/48 (42%)	68/183 (37%)
Rushing yd average, with nat'l ranking	275.0	104.0	107.0	162.0 (48th)	127.4 (85th)
Passing yd average, with nat'l ranking	227.0	140.0	487.0	284.7 (19th)	218.1 (54th)
Total offense yd average, with nat'l ranking	502.0	244.0	594.0	446.67 (21st)	345.5 (81st)
Time of possession / game	32:45	30:55	35:49	33:10	30:50
Red Zone Touchdown Efficiency	5/ 6 (83%)	2/2 (100%)	4/ 5 (80%)	11/ 13 (85%)	25 / 36 (69%)

Defense

Category	Pitt	UM	MSU	2005	2004
Yards per rush given up	3.3	2.4	4.5	3.9	2.7
Avg yards per pass attempt	6.3	5.1	12.1	7.3	7.9
Avg yards per pass completion	11.0	11.7	20.4	14.0	13.6
Pass completion percentage	57%	43%	59%	52%	58%
Quarterback sacks	5	2	1	8	30
Rushing yd average against, with nat'l ranking	103.0	114.0	161.0	126.0 (50th)	88.2 (4th)
Passing yd average against, with nat'l ranking	220.0	223.0	327.0	256.7 (92nd)	281.2 (116th)
Total yd offense average against, with nat'l ranking	323.0	337.0	488.0	382.7 (68th)	369.4 (54th)

Turnovers

Category	Pitt	UM	MSU	2005	2004
Interceptions by ND	1	1	1	3	9
Fumbles Forced / Recovered	2/ 1	3/ 1	4/ 2	9/ 4	27 / 12
Turnovers gained	2	2	3	7	21
Had Intercepted	1	0	1	2	10
Fumbles / Lost	1/ 0	3/ 1	1/ 1	5/ 2	15 / 6
Turnovers lost	1	1	2	4	16
Turnover Margin	+1	+1	+1	+3	+5

Special Teams

Category	Pitt	UM	MSU	2005	2004
Kickoff return average	17.5	24.0	21.5	20.7	18.7
Kickoff return average allowed	16.0	18.0	20.8	18.5	19.9
Punt return average	23.0	19.0	11.0	16.0	10.8
Punt return average allowed	0.0	5.2	2.0	4.1	8.2

Fun Stat O' the Day

D.J. Fitzpatrick is only 2 punts away from becoming #5 on the All-Time Punts in a Career list. Ok, some maybe not fun stat o' the day. How about depressing reminder of recent offensive woes.

Team Loss | by Jay

(aka, the Spartan close-out)

We "broke down some tape" and whipped up this game summary for MSU, using the official play-by-play from UND.com, and supplementing with our own notes. We tried to pay special attention to offensive formations and blitzing schemes. Hopefully it's not too confusing to decipher. A couple of random notes:

• The 1 TE, 3 WR, single back set (with Darius) was our most popular formation against Michigan State, and we used it about 40% of the time.

• A couple of the early dives by Schwapp (including the fumble on the one) seemed to actually be option plays, with Brady & Darius sprinting out after the handoff.

• State really dialed up the blitz a lot as the game went on, but overall we did a great job of handling it. Quinn's touchdown pass to Walker burned the blitz, the 50-yard bomb to Stovall over the middle had the linebacker and corner coming on a blitz, and the late drive to tie the game beat the blitz several times. Still, all three of our sacks came on unblocked blitzes, so we'll need to do a better job of picking them up.

• We also increased our blitzing as the game unfolded, mostly sending Hoyte or Mays (or both).

• Stanton ran the option at least three times, and twice it went for a touchdown. First time was on the keeper just before the half, second time was, of course, at the end of the game.

• One thing we missed in the play summary was noting when the no-huddle was used. If anybody cares to look at the tape again and earmark the no-huddle plays, we'd be interested.

One thing's clear in watching the replay: nobody had a truly outstanding game (except maybe Samardzija), and yet nobody had a really crummy game, either. Everybody was shade of grey. Just as someone screwed up, and I was fitting him with the goat horns, he'd go and make a spectacular play that would turn the game around.

Stovall holds on a Walker touchdown run; Stovall catches a TD. Ndukwe misses on coverage; Ndukwe recovers a fumble. Zibby gives up a touchdown to Trannon; Zibby strips Kyle Brown of the football. Quinn throws a terrible interception that gets returned for a score; Quinn rebounds, and leads the team back from twenty-one points down and forces an overtime. And so on. It sort of reminded me of the movie Crash, where no character is wholly good, and nobody is entirely evil, either, and just when you think you've got somebody pegged, they go and do something that flips everything over.

If it had been a character drama, it would have been sublime; but alas, it was a football game, and so, we have to take a Loss.


Thirteen Plays I Want to Have Back

13. First quarter, first drive. Quinn overthrows a wide-open Shelton. Drive result: punt.

12. State's second drive. Ndukwe jumps the passing route and nearly intercepts a Stanton pass. It's complete to Jeramy Scott for 23 yards, and State goes on to score a touchdown.

11. End of the first quarter. We set up a screen pass to Walker perfectly, but blocks aren't sustained. What should have been a big gainer ended up going for 2 meager yards. Drive result: punt.

10. Five minutes left in the second. Long pass to Stovall, who pushes off and gets flagged for offensive pass interference. Drive ended in a punt.

9. Two minutes left in the half. Third and ten, ball on MSU's 29. Charlie calls a handoff to Darius, who takes it to the short side for no gain, putting the field goal attempt on the hash instead of down the middle. Fitz misses the ensuing field goal.

8. State has the ball with under two minutes in the half. Stanton hits Terry Love over the middle and he rambles for 45 yards, with both our safeties seemingly out of position. Sets up the MSU touchdown just before halftime.

7. First drive of the second half, Sir Darean Adams intercepts Brady and takes it in for a score.

6. Schwapp fumbles on the goal line. (I'm still waiting for them to blow the play dead.)

5. Six minutes left in the third, Stanton hits Trannon on a slip screen. Two of our linebackers have blitzed, and Ndukwe takes a bad angle. Result: a short pass that turns into a sixty-five yard run to the end zone.

4. Nine minutes in the fourth. Darius runs left, weaves his way into the end zone for a score. Stovall holds on the play; TD no good.

3. Same drive, confusion on the offense, and we call a timeout; a timeout which would have come in very handy at the end of regulation.

2. Same drive. What Weis will label a broken play (should have been a "walk-in touchdown", he says) ends up with Schwapp getting stuffed on a fourth and one. Should it have been a fake to Schwapp, and a pitch to Darius? We'll never know.

1. Overtime. Stanton options right, pitches to Teague. Ball game.


...and Eight Big Plays I Loved

8. First quarter, fourth and fifteen, Quinn hits Stovall for a first down after scrambling out of a sure sack.

7. End of the first, State on our 35, the Duke makes a great play on a hurried Stanton pass and comes down with the interception.

6. Smarj nabs a sideline pass from Quinn, goes matador on the defender and high-steps it into the end zone.

5. Minute left in the third, Stanton on our 24 rolls out right, looking, looking, and sacked by Richardson for a 12-yard loss, setting up a long field goal miss.

4. End of the third quarter, third and ten on our own 36, MSU blitzes, we pick it up, and Quinn hits Stovall for a fifty-yard pass down the middle, setting up a Stovall touchdown two plays later.

3. Quinn finds Samardzija on a quick throw to the back of the end zone, tying the game at 38 with two and a half minutes left.

2. Zibby forces a fumble from Kyle Brown, giving us a chance to win it in regulation.

1. D.J., icewater in his veins, hits a 44-yard field goal in overtime to put us ahead.


Charlie termed this game a "team loss", and I think that's exactly right. No one MSU play undid us, no single mistake was a backbreaker. The opportunities to win were abundant, and yet, we didn't take advantage of them. Michigan State did, and thus deserved to win.

Onward to Washington.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades | by Pat

A look back at Saturday's game.

QB - Giving a grade on this one really depends on if you want to take the short view or the long view on things. On one hand, Quinn still looked a bit off with his receivers. At times passes were thrown too short, too long, to the wrong shoulder, or to the wrong team. Inconsistent would be an apt adjective. But in the greater scheme of things, there are plenty of reasons to think of better times ahead.

The way that Quinn settled down after MSU took its biggest lead of the game and executed a perfect 8 for 8 touchdown drive showed great maturity. Also, the arm strength he showed on some of those 3rd and long throws - especially the out to Stovall while avoiding the rush - was extremely impressive. Sure the career marks don't mean much when they coencide with a loss and a bit more accuracy on the deep ball would be nice, but there is no denying that he is a vastly improved quarterback from the one we saw last year. The best part is that he still has nearly half of his college elibility left.

RB - Not a banner day running the ball, due mainly to the aggressive and successful play of the Spartan defense. Still, it was nice to see Walker still running hard in the 4th quarter when the defense appeared to tire a bit. Hopefully Coach Haywood reminds Walker that in certain time management situations, it's better to take a yard or two loss rather than get out of bounds. At the end of the first half, Walker angled for the sideline which stopped the clock and enabled MSU to keep enough time on the clock to score before the half.

The no-show of Rashon Powers-Neal was a bit surprising, but I wouldn't read too much into it just yet. Schwapp had a bit of a "welcome to college ball" game and I'm sure will hear about his decision to reach with the ball on the goal line on 1st down. The play where he was stuffed for no gain on 4th and 1 was a miscommunication apparently, so I can't fault him for running into an unblocked linebacker. (Looking back, ND twice ran a option play where Schwapp took the dive up the middle while Quinn and Walker rolled left. It seemed those two plays were setting up the 4th and 1 where Quinn would fake the inside handoff to Schwapp and roll out with Walker with nothing but plenty of open field in front of them. A nice look at Weis using certain plays to set up others. Problem is, Walker ran one way while while Quinn seemed to be ready to go the other. I'm not trying to point the blame finger, just commenting that giving the ball to Schwapp probably wasn't the preferred option on that play.) However, Schwapp still looks effective blocking, so I imagine he'll still see plenty of playing time, goal line fumble and all. Travis Thomas logged his second straight DNP-CD. Hopefully the matchup with the Huskies will result in plenty of PT for everyone.

WR - The first game without Rhema McKnight and the receivers still looked pretty good. Most of that can attributed to the full-time return of Matt Shelton, who looked great. I don't recall seeing ND try to hit Shelton over the top, but rather the Irish seemed to use his speed and quickness on short outs and slants. I'd imagine eventually those quick outs will turn into out and ups as the defense tries to cheat in and jump the short route. Samardzija is on a record-setting pace and just seems to have a knack to find the holes in the zone. Brady's confidence in him is soaring right now, as it should be.

Stovall finally broke out, but like Brady, did so in an uneven fashion. From my nosebleed seats in the stands I was able to watch him more than the TV cameras allow and he really was open all game long. He still needs to use his size a bit better to fight off smaller corners for the ball, but he looks much better than he did last year. Getting back to Shelton for a second, his injury/cramp in the 4th quarter gave us another glimpse of how Weis' bold approach to play calling. David Grimes came into the game to replace Shelton and Weis immediately called the freshman's number on the very next play. It was Grimes' first career reception and you could tell that the Spartans certainly didn't expect him to be the target. To his credit, Grimes made a great catch and looked pretty fluid turning up field and getting the first down.

TE - I don't think I've ever seen a football player flip over as many times in a game as Anthony Fasano does. He's one of the few offensive guys that hits the defender as hard as they hit him. Each one of his receptions seems to end in a collision worthy of a Driver's Ed "Blood on the Highway" film. And yet he pops back up ready to do it all over again. On the whole, the tight ends had a bit more trouble this week blocking the large MSU defensive line, but that isn't terribly surprising considering that even the ends at MSU check in around 300lbs. Kudos to Marcus Freeman, who's name hasn't been called over the PA yet this year, but really has been doing a solid job keeping linebackers and lineman off Quinn and Walker.

OL - Five false start penalties are never a good thing, but it should be noted that the first two weren't exactly Notre Dame's fault. The Irish did a legal, quick shift of the tight ends hoping it would draw the Spartan defense offsides. The Spartans did jump and the ND OL reacted before the Spartans could get out of the neutral zone. But both were blown as false starts against the Irish. Coach Weis mentioned in his press conference that he told the officials he was going to do this formation shift before the game and yet they still flagged the Irish, much to Weis' chagrin. It will be interesting if Weis is stubborn and continues to use this shift or if he will drop it since the average college official doesn't seem to be too worried about the details. (Sorry, pet peeve. Since they started announcing the number of the offending lineman, is it too hard to get the number right? There are only five of them out there and #64 ain't one of them.)

As for the blocking, there were a few more missed blocks on Saturday than in the first two games and MSU's most hirsute lineman, Domata Peko, seemed to be in the backfield an awful lot. Credit of course to the Spartan linemen for playing a good game, but I hope the Irish line gets back to the attacking mentality they showed in the first two games.

DL - Continuing a theme, the Irish line just didn't seem to have the necessary push, especially early in the game. Stanton had enough time to spread out a picnic on a few plays, which makes covering all the receivers nearly impossible. All four starting lineman did have season highs in tackles, but the stats are a bit deceiving I would say. Perhaps they were trying more to contain Stanton than make a mad dash at him and leave plenty of field for Crazy Legs to run, but even with a more conservative defense you don't want to give the QB all day to check off his receiving options.

They did improve as the game progressed, which is another testament to Reuben Mendoza's summer conditioning. Late in the game when the Spartans went conservative and tried to run out the clock they were consistently stuffed. The three Spartan rushes for -1 yard in the shadow of their own endzone near the end of the 4th quarter was inspired play by the Irish line. Still, it wasn't the best game by the Irish DL and improvement will be needed to compete with the likes of USC and Tennessee.

LB - Not too much to say on the linebackers. Hoyte was his usual team-leading tackler self. Need proof the defense is more aggresive this year? Hoyte already has as many tackles for loss this season (8.0) as he did all of last year. Mays was flying all over the place and had the key fumble recovery late in the 4th quarter. Crum continues to impress me. Hard to believe that Crum is only 3 games into his college career. Let's just hope that he's able to stay at the Apache position, where he seems comfortable and effective and isn't forced to move around to fill depth holes in other positions.

DB - Stanton had a pretty good day throwing the ball all over the field, but I don't think the secondary played an especially bad game. Both Zbikowski and Nduwke love to deliver the big hit, but their pass coverage still seems to let guys get behind from time to time. Teams seem to be picking on Zbikowski a bit. The first MSU touchdown to Matt Trannon was a great throw by Stanton to his 6'6" receiver, but it was also run right at TZ. Tommy might have still been a bit shaken up after MSU's center, Chris Morris, took a few liberties with Tommy's face and facemask at the bottom of the pile on the series' first play, but it looks as though Zbikowski just misplayed the ball to Trannon. I'll be interested to see how he plays in the future - especially since I predict more play-action thrown his way - as you never really want to coach your players to be less aggressive on the field.

Some will say that Nduwke is a linebacker playing free safety, but I think it's way too early to start moving him back to that position. He doesn't look like a natural ball hawk back there (paging David Bruton?) but I think he will keep improving. Let's just hope in the future he isn't tackled on an INT return by the fattest man on the field. I'm glad he did the interception (even if it was a forced pass on 3rd and long) to make up for the one that went right through his hands on the first play of MSU's second drive.

I think it's safe to say that Ambrose Wooden already has the Most Improved Player award locked up. He just seems to grow and improve every quarter he's out there. The tough hit on Jeremy Scott on 3rd and 22 in the 4th quarter was a great play we haven't seen all that often from an Irish cornerback. Richardson is playing much better than last year, but still seems a step too slow to react to poorly thrown passes that are prime interception candidates. Ferrine has been pretty quiet thus far as the nickel back, but that's not always a bad thing. Maybe the whole #15 jersey/burnt toast cornerback thing will end with him. One can hope anyways.

Special Teams - Still waiting for that big return. Hoskins has been close a few times, but the Spartans did a good job kicking into the endzone. Zbikowski seems to be taking the lead role as Irish punt returner. Bruton and Lambert continue to do a fantastic job covering the returner on punts. I'm telling you, watch them next time. They just fly down the field. The punt block on Fitzpatrick wasn't very encouraging as Mitchell Thomas let a blocker go right up the middle untouched, so hopefully those kind of mistakes will be coached out of the players. As for our kickoffs, it seems that Fitzpatrick is consistently getting more distance than Gioa (60.5 yards per vs. 55.8 yards) but they are still rotating. I'm guessing it's a move to save some of D.J.'s leg strength for field goals. Gioia does have two touchbacks so I know he can do it. He just needs to work on his technique and see if he can dial down the height a tad for a bit more distance. John Carlson did a great job forcing a fumble on a kickoff return, and is being rewarded with a special teams captain role for the game against Washington. That's the second straight week that the special teams captain title is given to the guy that forces a fumble on a kickoff/punt return.

The first loss is always tough and it is easy to point fingers and assign blame. But what I like is that improvment in multiple areas is already evident. As Coach Weis has said, you don't get medals for comebacks. But you can take the positives from the loss and build on them for the future. Even with the disappointing and emotionally draining loss, it appears the Notre Dame program is still pointed in the right direction.

Getting the Point | by Mike

Mike Brey has received a verbal commitment from Michigan point guard Tory Jackson, who visited campus the weekend of the MSU game. Jackson is deemed a "four-star player" by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Before opting for the Irish he had narrowed his choices to Notre Dame, Florida, Michigan, and Southern Cal.

In his Rivals profile, he is described by David Grier, coach of Tory's AAU team the Michigan Hurricanes (talk about an unfortunate team name) as "super quick" and able to "score a number of ways."

He has a very good midrange game and knows how to shoot the runner real well. Tory plays with a lot of fire and intensity. He gets after it defensively and is very skilled.

You can learn more about Jackson by reading his USA basketball profile. Selected highlights include:

Getting along with nine new teammates as a member of the USA Blue Team is a breeze for the 5-10 guard, compared to fighting for food with his 13 siblings.

Last season Jackson led his Buena Vista High School (Mich.) basketball team to a No. 3 ranking in the final regular season poll and averaged 29.5 ppg., 8.0 rpg. and 5.0 apg., which earned Jackson the 2005 Michigan Class C Player of the Year. On the field, he averaged 326 passing and 125 rushing yards as quarterback for Buena Vista's football squad.

How would you describe your game?
Dwyane Wade type. I can score when I want to, but I'm looking forward to helping my team. Instead of me getting my points, I'm going to be selfless because this is a team.

What's the best part of your game?
Being a creator on the floor.

Weakest part?
Off the ball defense.

If the descriptions of Tory's game from Grier and Jackson himself are accurate, Tory has the potential to provide the speed and athleticism necessary to round out what is shaping up to be a pair of solid, complementary recruiting classes.

Jackson's quick emergence also addresses two other concerns for fans of Irish hoops. When Matt Bouldin committed to Gonzaga before taking his Notre Dame visit, it was hard not to be disappointed. Though Bouldin is primarily a shooting guard, his exceptional passing abilities would have allowed him to serve as an emergency backup at the point. Thus Notre Dame would have addressed its depth issues at point guard for the 2006-2007 season without actually taking a point guard in this recruiting class. Brey could then finally move to his preferred cycle of taking a point every other year, a plan that has been thrown off ever since Greg Paulus reneged. With Jackson, Notre Dame once again has taken point guards in consecutive years, with Jackson following on the heels of Kyle McAlarney in the previous class. However, the opportunity to add someone of Jackson's athleticism (quick and reportedly able to drop two-handed dunks) is too good to pass up. Jackson should also address the difficulty Notre Dame has long had in defending speedy Big East point guards.

Additionally, Jackson's commitment gives Irish fans further hope with the recruitment of Tom Herzog, a 7'0" center prospect and friend of Tory. Indeed, Jackson credited AAU teammate Herzog with piquing his interest in the Irish. According to what my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Herzog at 31 Flavors last night (okay, actually a poster on an MSU board), Herzog is down to Notre Dame and MSU. Hopefully Jackson will help his friend make the right choice.

Pick Six: Week 3 | by Jay

Pick Six Standings have been updated, with Texas Tech providing some boost to those fortunate enough to have cast their lot with the Red Raiders.

Doubledomer and Haggis Breath jump into the lead.

In the BlogPollers' division of the Pick Six, Pat of BGS and The Nittany Blog take over the top spot, while former leader John of Catholic Packer Fan falls all the way to 8th as BC tumbles.

Three ranked battles of note this week: Iowa (21) at Ohio State (9), Georgia Tech (15) at Virginia Tech (4), and the big one, Tennessee (11) at LSU (3).

Week 3 In a Nutshell | by Dylan

This week's installment was delayed because of the long flight back to Earth. My apologies.

The better team won on Saturday. Sparty picked a plan that could have easily led to a quick humiliation if Brady Quinn had been able to hit his long passes early. They were never made to pay for bringing all eleven guys within eight yards of the ball. They gambled and won, and God knows we had plenty of opportunities to take it from them. On to Washington.

It's hard to find the chinks in the Trojans' armor, but the 197 yards rushing allowed against Arkansas is interesting. When taken with the 377 yards passing allowed to Hawaii, I think there may be some vulnerability on that side of the ball. Not so with the offense, however. Even Michael McDonald threw a touchdown pass. No word on whether he encored with "Yah Mo B There".

Yes, "andy", Oklahoma is a bad football team. As predicted here last week, UCLA beat the Sooners. This week's awful Oklahoma stat : Adrian Peterson, 23 carries for 58 yards (2.5 avg). By my count, there are at least three more losses on the schedule, including the impending deep impact against Texas, which could lead to a massive, state-wide seppuku. All memories of last year's appearance in the National Championship game will be erased, and, all of the sudden, Bob Stoops will start considering those NFL offers.

Purdue's secondary continued to impress, allowing their opponent nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns through the air for the second straight week, this time against an Arizona team that will be lucky to win three games this year. Sparty is going to steal Boilermaker Pete's sledge, cave in his skull, stuff him in the drum, and bury him in the end zone for Purdue's traditional "third loss of the year", a tradition as old as college football itself.

Miami is not very good. 3.8 yards per rush, 117 penalty yards, and outgained by Clemson. Luckily for the 'Canes, they'll get to 5-1 (and probably return to the top ten) before the Georgia Tech game on the strength of wins over Clemson, Colorado, South Florida, Duke, and Temple. Embarrassing.

Ball State should change their mascot to a crash test dummy. 159 points allowed to Iowa, Bowling Green and Auburn. BC next week. Their coaches should be tried for reckless endangerment.

The cupcake cavalcade continued into week three with the top twenty-five facing off against Rice, Ohio, Louisiana Monroe (which is a school, and not an individual, I'm told), Eastern Michigan, Sam Houston State, and Northern Iowa. Well done, indeed.

The stars are already aligning a for cosmic bailout of LTW. The Trees, after escaping with their lives from the University of the Navy, lost to UC Davis. They will be hard pressed to win again this year. Walt, keep Ty's seat warm, but take consolation in the fact that you can go back to Pitt a conquering hero after Wannstedt gets canned. Return to Glory! I believe this Harris, Willingham, Wannstedt vortex of sucking was a major subplot in one of the Left Behind books. I'll get our fact-checking staff right on that.

Game of the Week: Nebraska 7, Pitt 6. The teams combined to convert four of twenty-nine 3rd downs on their way to a thrillizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....WHA?

Ty, it was a helluva victory against Idaho. We're going to beat you by forty points, and will be the first of five consecutive top-25 teams to do so. But don't worry, your young men will learn that they will find out the type of man they want to be when the encounter adversity such as that which is experienced in a college football game against a team like the University of Notre Dame, okay?

Poll Logic | by Jay

Michigan State beat Notre Dame.

Notre Dame beat Michigan.

So of course, Michigan > ND > MSU.

Disabused | by Jay

Just to follow up from a point in Mike's post below.

When Stanton pitched the ball, and Teague scampered into the end zone in overtime, and the State bench erupted in a spasm of glee, and our guys wandered off the field, stunned, and their guys did this, and we lost the game, even after a twenty-one-point comeback...well, it felt like a slap in the face.

And like a slap in the face, it stung for a little while. But by the time I made it back to the tailgate, the sting was already subsiding, the redness was going down, and I was thinking about silver linings and positive signs and taking solace in the fact that we'd fought really, really hard to send that game into overtime. As my friend Leo said, we've all felt a lot worse walking out of that stadium before.

And just when I rationalized it to the point where I'm sort of feeling okay with losing this one, Charlie has the temerity to slap me again.

I told [the team] that they don't give out medals for trying, that they shouldn't feel good about themselves for coming back. You know how you have team wins? Well this was a team loss. Give Michigan State their credit. They made more plays than we did. We just made too many mistakes. On offense, on defense, on special teams. All across the board...

People are down, but I just want them to know that it's not okay to lose. You can't feel good about coming back.

You're right, Charlie. Thanks for setting me straight.

Odds and Sods III | by Mike

Desultory reactions to yesterday's kick in the teeth:

...and my word. In a game filled with suprising events, none may have been more surprising than Charlie Weis's decision to go for it on 4th and 15 from the MSU 37 with 6:02 left in the first half. The Irish converted when a scrambling Brady Quinn hit Maurice Stovall at the sideline for a 17 yard gain. In addition to keeping a drive that ultimately produced a touchdown alive, the call sent a powerful signal to Weis's team.

Safety dance. In the first quarter, Chinedum Ndukwe attempted to jump the route on a Drew Stanton pass. If Ndukwe had hauled in the ball, he would have had a sure touchdown. Instead, the ball grazed by Ndukwe's fingertips and was taken for a big gain by the MSU receiver. This play foreshadowed Notre Dame's safety play throughout the game - toeing the line between making great plays for the Irish and giving up huge plays to the Spartans. Together, Ndukwe and Tom Zbikowski combined for an interception, a forced fumble that gave Notre Dame the opportunity to win the game at the end of regulation, and a fumble recovery that led to a touchdown. Obviously, these were all huge plays. However, the MSU staff appeared to detect weakness in the coverage ability of the Irish safeties and created a gameplan to attack this perceived weakness. Throughout the game, MSU used screens and other tactics to draw the Irish safeties out of position, creating opportunities for big plays in the passing game. As the season progresses, one of the key developments for Notre Dame will be whether Bill Lewis and Brian Polian can improve the coverage skills of the defensive backs while retaining their playmaking ability.

Run don't walk. After being held to 38 rushing yards in the first half, Darius Walker appeared to be a completely different running back in the second half, finishing the game with 116 yards. Part of his second-half improvement can be attributed to a tired MSU defense (ND had over a 10 minute advantage in time of possession) and running when MSU expected the pass, particularly on draws. However, the biggest change between halves was the decisiveness in Walker's runs. In the first half, he constantly danced while attempting to make the first man miss, allowing the rest of the Spartan defense to converge. In the second half, he followed his blockers and took the yardage his line created for him, rather than trying to create all his yardage on his own. It was quite refreshing to see such obvious results of halftime coaching from a position coach, though it came too late to prevent one of the biggest gaffes of the game - Walker not staying in bounds on 3rd down with a little over a minute left in the first half.

Sam. Jeff Samardzija caught three touchdowns Saturday, bringing his season total to five TD grabs. The single season Notre Dame record for touchdown receptions belongs to Derrick Mayes (11), followed by Jack Snow (9) and Jim Seymour (8). It seems quite likely that Samardzija will work his onto this list, and he certainly has a shot at the record.

McKnight moves. By the time Weis called the fake reverse pass to McKnight in the Pitt game it was clear that Charlie Weis was determined to find ways to get McKnight the ball in the open field. Heading into the season, I believed McKnight's ability to create separation in one-on-one coverage and his ability to gain yardage after the catch would be critical to Weis's passing game. When McKnight went down in the Michigan game, I wondered how our passing game would fare without him. Stovall (8-176-1), Samardzija (6-96-3), Fasano (7-93-0), and Shelton (6-87-0) all had big games in McKnight's absence. However, other than Samardzija's 31-yard touchdown, almost all of those yards came in the air. Some of this can be attributed to Quinn's passing, but we need a receiver to emerge who will scare defenses when he has the ball in his hands.

Teenage riot. The youth movement continues under Coach Weis. Congratulations to freshmen Steve Quinn and David Grimes. Quinn made his first appearance in a game for the Irish, bringing the number of freshmen to see playing time to nine (from last year's recruiting class of fifteen). Grimes had his first career reception, an 11 yard grab that helped set up Notre Dame's final touchdown.

Don't call it a comeback. What can be taken away from Notre Dame coming from 21 points down to tie the game before losing in overtime? Can anything be taken away from it? The message from South Bend is "no."

"Sometimes you feel good about yourself if you come back," [Weis] said, "but guess what, that's just not good enough."

"I don't really consider it a comeback. For me comebacks are when the team comes back to win the game," Irish running back Darius Walker said. "Nobody comes back to lose the game."

There are no moral victories in Notre Dame Stadium (despite Davie's attempt to construe the 2000 Nebraska game as such). Yet fans who witnessed the last three years did see something different in the way this year's team responded to being down. In the previous three years, the Irish found themselves down by more than a touchdown fourteen times. They came back to win just three times (after trailing Navy by 8 in the third quarter in 2002, in overtime after trailing Washington State by 19 at the half in 2003, and after trailing Michigan by 9 at the half in 2004) and to take the lead once (retaking the lead following a 24-6 deficit to Boston College before losing 27-25 in 2003). Far more often, once the Irish went down two scores, the wheels came off. And not just against USC, but also against teams like Syracuse and Purdue. In the end, a loss is still a loss, but the mental toughness the Irish displayed yesterday when down three touchdowns evinced a sea change in confidence, a confidence that should pay dividends in the win column in the future.

Dear mama. Watching MSU plant their "State" flag at midfield following the game was sickening. Not because such behavior is unexpected from MSU (Tai Brown on Line 1). Nor because the fault lies entirely with MSU. When we beat them, they can't plant the flag. (Though I still wouldn't have shed a tear had the flag bearers been put in their place). What was so disappointing was that Carl Grimes participated. After Saturday's article in the SBT, we expected more from Carl, but we're confident Janice Grimes will set him straight.

Out of the blue. Not that this has anything to do with Notre Dame football, but yesterday I got the sense that Ed Orgeron was not hired to be Ole Miss's coach by an athletic director. Rather, Ed Orgeron, Head Coach, was greenlit by the producers of Taradise.