The Agony and the Ecstasy | by Dylan

For those of you without the stamina to read all of the comments to the Kickoff! post below, here's the abridged version:

8:41 pm, suave andrew - "this team is falling apart in front of our eyes."

8:45 pm. Sean - "I predict 35 - 0. Oh and bench Brady. If to just make him wake up." Quinn's final line - 20/37, 316 yards, 5 touchdowns.

8:51 pm, Nate - "I second the Bench Brady motion--our punter is our MVP...Oh, and fire Minter. Now. Get a new DC by the second quarter." Last nine Spartan drives - 101 yards, 6 points, 3 turnovers.

8:55 pm, Pantsb - "Anyone else thinks Rhema McKnight ... sucks?”

9:01 pm, Nate - "no touch, no accuracy whatsoever. Brady's lost whatever he had last year."

9:13 pm, Chuck - "Td - Rhema McKnight!! Do the Irish actually have it in them to come back??"

9:13 pm, scott - "Ok. My rage-fueled aneurysm will have to wait."

9:23 pm, Sean – “NM. Brady just threw an INT for a TD. The rout is back on.”

9:25 pm, Chuck – “Bring in Evan Sharpley!! Brady's not even looking to who he's throwing to!!”

9:29 pm, brian - “Will we ever beat Sparty?”

9:33 pm, brian89 - “Damn. I don't know if I can watch the rest of this game. You can't spot any team (let alone MSU) 24 points, and expect to win.”

9:56 pm, JohnWA - “Can we get Clausen a REALLY early enrollment? Like maybe by the second half?”

10:19 pm, DCDomer - “I have confidence that this team and Charlie will pull it together and pull it out.” A voice cries in the wilderness….

10:38 pm (MSU returns INT for TD), Sean – “Well, that's that.”

11:05 pm, JohnWA – “No way ND is coming back with this weather.”

11:18 pm, Chuck – “This game is playing games with my heart!!”

11:29 pm (after the missed PAT), PK - “Wow. I can't believe it. No matter what we do over the next few series, we deserve to lose this game.”

11:34 pm (Lambert INT for TD), PK – “Ho-lee shit.”

11:35 pm, scott - “Sweet mother of Jesus...”

11:38 pm , Nate - “My 9 month old is having a blast watching his daddy and mommy freak out...”

11:42 pm, obediah - “ugh, I wish I had alcohol in my system to dull my nerves”

11:46 pm, PK – “Did we just f'in intercept it?”

11:46 pm, Sean - “Excuse me while I do laps in my basement!”

12:32 am, Sean - “Beer tastes much better with a W.”

You can say that again, Sean.

It was almost worse | by Jeff

...this time it rained.

Kickoff! | by Dylan

Post-game note: The time-stamped comments responding to this post are hilarious. Definitely worth a read. Bench Brady?

Beat State | by Jay

Off to East Lansing...man, I love road trips. I've hit every Irish roadie in the Charlie Weis era save Washington, and I'm proud to say the Irish are 5-1 when I make the trip.

The last time I went to Spartan Stadium was junior year, 1990, and it was a doozy. The Irish were #1, but found themselves down 19-7 in the fourth quarter to the 24th-ranked Spartans. The Irish scored a touchdown, and were driving for another, when Rick Mirer tossed up a wounded duck, a sure interception that would have sealed the upset for the Spartans. But the ball careened off of Spartan player Todd Murray's shoulder pad and settled cozily in Irish flanker Adrian Jarrell's arms at the MSU 2-yard line. This set up a Rod Culver touchdown run with 34 seconds left, and the Irish won, 20-19. The play is now known far and wide as the "Immaculate Deflection", and from our endzone seats, we had a great view of it.

Tickets? Check. Rain gear? Check. Confidence? Uhh...check. (The late, great Spartan coach Duffy Daugherty once said, "My only feeling about superstition is that it's unlucky to be behind at the end of the game," but with the inclement weather, and the prospect of a high-scoring shootout, we might need some of that Adrian Jarrell-style Irish karma tonight. I will be sure to head-butt my dog on the way out the door for a little extra boost.)

Go Irish. Beat State.

This is Why They Play the Games | by Jay

I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen tomorrow night, and it really doesn't have much to do with the weather (forecasted thunderstorms, all night long). Not only is our own Irish team an unmitigated enigma, but outside of two scrimmage games, the 3-0 Spartans have really only played one semi-worthy opponent, beating a 2-1 Pittsburgh (who in turn beat Virginia, who was also crushed by GT last night; and Cincinnati, 1-2, lone win against E. Kentucky). The Spartan '06 resume is relatively blank at this point. Michigan State is a tough team with good players, but we really don't know how good or how tough. Much like last year: how could the team we saw in ND stadium end up going 5-6? Although this year MSU is averaging 39.9 points per game, you have to wonder, are those muscles for real, Sparty?

In our positional preview, the Spartans graded out third among opponents in across-the-board talent, behind Michigan and Southern Cal, and just ahead of Georgia Tech. You can familiarize yourself with the starters here.

We all know about Drew Stanton. Against Pitt, he threw for 198 yards and ran for another 112. Javon Ringer chipped in another 166 yards (on 15 carries) and all told, the Spartans racked up 335 yards on the ground and 533 yards overall. In that game, they tried to pass some in the first quarter, ran into some trouble (punt/punt/interception), then switched gears and just decided to grind it out against Pitt's smallish defensive line, going on a run of 38 unanswered points. As SpartanBlog put it:

All in all it was a solid effort by Michigan State, who played as well over the the final three quarters as they played poorly during the first. And credit has to go to the coaching staff for making adjustments on both sides of the ball which allowed the Spartans to take advantage of their size and strength and grind down the undersized Pitt offensive and defensive lines.

Here is a highlight reel of the Pitt game. (And if you're interested, here are some more Sparty highlight reels against E. Michigan and Idaho.)

Five Questions We'll Have the Answers To Come Tomorrow Night

1. So we've got Stanton, who's probably the best QB on our slate this year, and ol' crazylegs has some wheels. Will we try to contain him and force him to throw, or will we try and get pressure up the middle (something we could be able to do against the interior Spartan linemen) and flush him from the pocket? Unlike Reggie Ball, Stanton has shown tremendous ability to throw on the run. One advantage we have this year in preparing for him is the speedy QB Demetrius Jones running the scout offense this week.

2. Depending on the answer to (1), will we play mostly nickel against Michigan State to counter Stanton's arm and the fleet of Spartan receivers, or do we need to stay in a 4-3 to ward against Ringer and the running game? Last year, we played almost exclusively 4-3 against the Spartans (out of personnel limitations), and didn't defend the run (161, 4.47/ypc) nor the pass (327 yards) very well.

3. On offense, we've harped on the inept Irish ground attack thus far. Should the Irish try to establish a running game against the Spartan front 7? The defensive line is relatively inexperienced, but the linebackers are huge (MLB Thornhill: 240lb, OLB Herron: 245lb). Or should we come right out and start picking on the weak link of the Spartan defense, the cornerbacks? (Cooper is a converted free safety, and while Williams is a returning starter, he pretty much stunk it up last year.)

4. A micro-level question for our offensive line: will we see a change in blocking schemes and protection help come tomorrow night? Let's hope so. We've seen a number of times where Morton and/or Carlson slide over to help Sam Young, but Young's actually been fairly solid in holding his own. Given the exposure in the interior of the line against Michigan, is it time to mix things up?

5. Finally, how is the team coping after the Michigan meltdown? Did we go in the tank, or will we rebound? Charlie alluded to (or are we inferring?) the team's attitude post-UM in his presser yesterday:

Well, we went out in full pads every day this week...I wanted to make sure the pace of the practice on Thursday was up. And the pace of the practice was up, and I feel a little bit better this week than I did last Thursday.

There are no signs of people just going out there and going through the motions. There is no evidence of that, and trust me, I’ve been looking for it all week; because if there had been evidence of that, there would have been repercussions.

This team had more hype and more preseason attention than just about any Irish squad in recent memory, and that over-inflated balloon was rudely popped by the Wolverines. Not to get all Freud on you, but it seems to me this team can go one of two ways: they can curl up in a ball and write off the season, or they can process the beatdown, and use it as a springboard. We'll find out which direction they're heading tomorrow night.

The Nice Department

• A couple of good sidebars on the '66 game from the MSU official site, here and here.

• We've linked this before, but here's a great page on the '66 game.

• A bunch of links on the UND.com MSU preview page, including player interviews and the post-practice session with c-dub. Be sure to check out the video retrospective on the '66 game -- it's terrific.

• East Lansing PD is girding itself for the post-game revelry. (Seen here in all its glory.) On my two roadies to State while in school, Lansing seemed pretty sleepy. We never had as much of a problem with chippy fans or the fuzz as we did in say, Ann Arbor (I'm still trying to get the tear gas out of my eyes from the night before the '91 game). Looks like the sparty students have stepped it up lately. Irish roadtrippers, be sure to bring your officially-licensed Notre Dame Brick and join in the post-game fun.

the Conversation rolls on | by Jay

The gents over at MarkMayBeWrong have picked up the ball on the Conversation and are running with it for this week. We'll have our next installment/refinement after this weekend's games.

The Cunning Use of Flags | by Pat

One of the storylines that ABC will undoubtedly beat into the ground during Saturday's ND-MSU broadcast is the flow of bulletin board material, both real and imagined, coursing between Notre Dame and Michigan State this week.

The Crime

You remember this from last year's overtime loss to the Spartans. Of course the incident caught MSU some flak, and after Minnesota did the same thing to Michigan the following week, the Big Ten banned this lastest fad in being a sore winner. Chastened, some Spartans began to claim it was payback for the Irish planting their own flag at Spartan Stadium in 2004.

There's a small problem with the payback angle: it never happened. I have scoured the internet for photos, read Spartan message boards, checked postgame summaries from every newspaper...70,027 people were in Spartan Stadium, and no one has a picture of the Irish committing the alleged crime. (I came up with this post-game picture, but no flag is visible.) And keep in mind that in '04, ND was coached by Michigan State alum Ty Willingham. Was Ty going to allow his young protégés to stray from the path of upright and dignified manhood by taunting his alma mater?

Other Spartans went with the blame-the-new-kid routine. Said 2005 Michigan State captain Clifton Ryan:

"It was young guys who did it. I'm not sure what they were thinking; I guess they got caught up in the moment."

Bzzzz. Try again, Clifton. This video of the flag planting (it's at the end, around the 5:20 mark, and it includes a little Boston College-style turf tearing as well) shows that one of the two players who carried the flag out to midfield and planted it was safety Eric Smith, who not only was a senior, but was one of the four Spartan team captains along with Ryan (Ryan, by the way, was also the player who claimed prior to the game that Touchdown Jesus "wasn't all it's cracked up to be.") The other player who carried out the flag with Smith was Kaleb Thornhill, the Spartans' starting middle linebacker.

The Bulletin Board

Either way, ND has shrugged off any notion of using the flag as motivation. Or have they? On Saturday in his post-game presser, Weis had the following to say.

Q. You mentioned State a little bit. Do you use the struggles your team had the past few years with them or is this game all the motivation you need?

COACH WEIS: There's one incident in particular that I'll use as motivation.

But then on Tuesday he clarified that statement and claimed he wasn't talking about the Spartan post-game flag party at midfield.

Q. You alluded after the game on Saturday the flag incident.

COACH WEIS: I did not allude to it. You inferred. I did not allude to it.

Q. Are you planning on using that this week as motivation? Do you have to?

COACH WEIS: Here is what I think we have to do. I think we have to put the flag incident and Michigan behind us because if we sit there, and when you use something like the flag incident, try to use that as your motivation for the game, that lasts for about five minutes once the game starts. Once you start hitting each other in the mouth a few times in the game, that stuff is over with.

So I think that settles that. I'm sure that both teams are under strict orders not to go near any flags if they should win on Saturday. Still, despite everything that is being said to the press, I would certainly hope that each player on the Irish roster takes a nice long look at this before heading out onto the field. The Irish looked flat and somewhat unemotional against Michigan and if that happens again, given the recent history between these two teams, I just don't know what to say.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Meanwhile, the Spartans are also upset at the fact that when they beat Notre Dame last year, the "Megaphone" -- the trophy awarded to the winner of the ND-MSU game -- was not in the Stadium for the coaches and players to claim.

"I think they didn't plan on losing it, so they didn't bring it," Smith said Monday.

Said Stanton: "When they said that they didn't have it because they weren't expecting us to beat them, we were kind of shocked."

Yep, that's it, John L. We had the arrogance to disrespect such a long-standing tradition between our teams, and we did it out of pure hubris? Nevermind the fact that I can't remember a single game when ND paraded around the field with a rivalry game trophy. When MSU won at ND in 2003, I don't recall them bothering to look for the Megaphone or anyone making a stink about it not being in the stadium. Maybe if we had something cool, like Paul Bunyan's Axe, we might, but we don't. ND doesn't care much about trophies that don't say "National Champion" on them. Zibby said as much earlier this week.

Q. Before this week, had you ever heard of the megaphone trophy?

Tom Zbikowski: Yeah, from last year, I don't know. I don't know what type of trophy it is. We play for a megaphone, I guess.

Here's what Heisler had to say back in 2004 about how ND regards rivalry trophies.

Does it require a shillelagh (USC and Purdue), a megaphone (Michigan State) or a crystal bowl (Stanford and Boston College) to make it a rivalry? Those traditional trophies historically have been more fodder for game notes and media guides than post-game, mid-field presentations.

Heisler re-visited those remarks this week, saying that "except for a trophy with Stanford, Notre Dame has never presented a rivalry trophy after a win." And I suspect they haven't bothered to make a big deal out of accepting one, either.

More Bad Mojo

Another tidbit of trash talk from East Lansing. Apparently, MSU coaches, players, and fans are convinced that Charlie Weis publicly dissed them at an alumni gathering over the summer, supposedly vowing that Notre Dame would never again lose to the Spartans. There are no exact quotes for this statement, or location, or a specific date and time, or...well...anything other than hearsay.

Yet, rather than dismiss it as the sort of rumor that pops up all the time on the internet(s), Coach Smith and his boys latched onto it like puppy dogs.

"I think we all heard it, didn't we?" Smith said. "I think we'll probably throw it up. It motivates us as coaches. Does it motivate our kids? Probably not. I think they could probably care less what Charlie's saying."

"I'm going to be careful about what I say this week," Stanton said. "Coach Weis is as competitive as any coach out there and he's proven himself with the offenses that he's been able to conduct, but that's a pretty bold statement to make, that you're never going to lose to a team that's beaten you seven out of the last nine times."

Now, MSU has a fine football tradition against us, and for the life of me I can't figure out why they need to instigate cheap, high school hijinx (especially in the press) to get themselves ready for a game against the Irish. Then again, John-el isn't exactly someone you would call grounded (witness his deranged outburst at the halftime of the OSU game last year, or the fact that he brings a priest on road trips to exorcize evil spirits from the field before the games). He's certainly not cut from the same cloth as previous honorable Spartan coaches like Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty, who won with class against ND. Which brings me to...

The Spartan-Irish Legacy

Crack open a book on Michigan State-Notre Dame and you'll find a sort of shared football history. In the early part of the century, ND helped get MSU, then Michigan Agricultural College, on the map as a football program, and later MSU repaid that debt by continuing to schedule the Irish when other Big Ten programs attempted to boycott ND. There have been terrifically exciting games between the two schools, especially lately. And then there's the Game of the Century, the 1966 10-10 tie, which both teams will be honoring by wearing 40th Anniversary patches on Saturday. It's pretty sad that these two midwestern powerhouses, with a long history of hard-nosed, fight-and-claw-in-the-mud games are being dragged into a war of words by the media and a few petty Spartans.

So here's to a great game on Saturday, where all the silliness -- the flag-planting, the missing megaphones, the specious trash talk -- gets buried under an avalanche of running, blocking, and tackling. Let's play some damned football, finally.

Ty-ed after Fifteen | by Jeff

I keep tripping over a certain chestnut in many of the recent stories trumpeting the Return to Mediocrity of Notre Dame football: "Well, Ty Willingham also started 11-4!" Admittedly, there are some disturbing similarities on paper between Ty's start and Charlie's start:

• Both coaches started 11-4
  
• Both coaches lost their initial bowl game
• Both coaches lost their 15th game in blowouts to Michigan

However, there is another Irish coach that started 11-4, and, perhaps not surprisingly, I haven't seen any mention of Dan Devine in any of the "11-4" articles. Lets take a quick look at where Charlie stacks up after 15 games.

Coach	First 15	Win Pct	MOV	Career Rec.
Harper	13-2	.866	+453	.863
Parseghian	13-2	.866	+317	.836
Brennan	13-2	.866	+276	.640
Rockne	12-1-2	.866	+197	.881
Leahy	12-1-2	.866	+189	.855
Layden	12-3	.800	+126	.770
Anderson	11-3-1	.766	+379	.630
Devine	11-4	.733	+168	.764
Weis	11-4	.733	+148	?
Willingham	11-4	.733	+38	.568
Faust	9-6	.600	+102	.535
Holtz	8-7	.533	+138	.765
Davie	8-7	.533	+11	.583
Kuharich	6-9	.400	-54	.425

Drawing conclusions from this breakdown is actually rather difficult. If you think Wins and Losses are the essential factor, it is tough to rationalize how Terry Brennan is tied for first with 13 wins and an .866 winning percentage, yet Lou Holtz is second-to-last with only 8 wins. Sorting the list by Margin of Victory does little to clear up the picture, as Hunk Anderson jumps to second place, and Brennan stays in the top five. However, MOV does appear to be a slightly better indicator on the low end, as Faust, Willingham, Davie, and Kuharich all started with MOVs of +102 or worse.

Based on the numbers, a coach's performance after 15 games is a very poor predictor of his ultimate success. Fifteen games is simply not enough time to evaluate the full range of changes that a coach will instill in a program. Strength of schedule is also a factor, as a couple of extra easy opponents can rocket someone from middle-of-the-pack to top-of-the-list. (Hunk Anderson's first three games in his second season were won by an average score of 59-0.)

Even if you do buy the idea that there is something meaningful about "11-4", there is a lot of hope for Coach Weis and ND fans. While Willingham lost his 16th game 22-16 to Michigan State, Devine won his 16th game, 41-0 against Oregon. Had ND gone to a bowl game after Devine's 8-3 first season, his 16th game would have been his 24-6 win over who else, but Michigan State.

Let's see how Weis does with his shot at the Spartans this weekend (and, over the next year and a half) before we start making lazy comparisons to our erstwhile Molder of Men.

Statistically Speaking - Michigan | by Pat

Beat at home. The 47 points scored by the Michigan Wolverines was only the 9th game in ND Stadium history where the opponent topped 40 points with all 9 games being Irish losses. The 47 points also ties the 1956 Michigan State game for 2nd all-time in terms of most points allowed by the Irish at home. In 1960, Purdue scored 51 points in a 51-19 win.

Beat bad at home. The 26 point margin of victory marks only the 7th game in ND Stadium history that Notre Dame has lost a game by 25 or more points. The list of coaches who have accomplished this feat in addition to Weis include Terry Brennan (47-14 to MSU, 40-0 to Oklahoma), Joe Kuharich (51-19 to Purdue, 28-0 to Iowa), and Ty Willingham (45-14 to Southern Cal, 37-0 to FSU).

We're #2. The Irish are now 40-6-3 all-time when ranked #2 going into a game. Prior to this season, the last time the Irish were #2 going into a game was the 31-24 defeat of then #1 FSU in 1993. The last time a #2 ranked Irish team lost was in 1980 when Southern Cal defeated the Dan Devine led Irish 20-3.

Kick away. One somewhat positive note to take away from the game was the performance of punter Geoff Price. Price punted the ball 7 times for 363 yards. That 51.9 yard per punt average set a Notre Dame single game record. The original record was 51.6 yards set by Joe Restic against Air Force in 1975. Currently, Price is ranked 2nd in the nation with a 49.8 yard per punt average.

Blitzkrieg. Here are the week 3 results of the blitzin' Irish. Or in this case, the read and reactin' Irish. With ND worried more about the run, ND choose to keep the linebackers back and let them fill up the holes open by the Michigan zone blocking. In the 1st half, ND really dialed back the blitzes with only 4 blitzes, 2 on 1st down, 1 on 2nd down, and 1 on 3rd down.

Down	# of blitzes	# of chances	Percentage
1st	6	27	22%
2nd	5	14	27%
3rd	5	12	42%
Total	16	53	30%

Season Long Running Averages

Offense

Category	GT	PSU	UM	2006	2005
Yards Per Rush	3.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	3.6
Avg. Yards per PA	6.5	8.0	4.9	6.3	8.7
Avg. Yards per PC	10.7	11.5	9.6	10.6	13.5
Pass Completion %	61%	69%	51%	59%	65%
3rd Down Conv.	7/16 (44%)	5/13 (38%)	2/14 (14%)	14/44 (32%)	90/184 (49%)
Rushing Yd Avg.	138.0	110.0	4.0	84.0 (102nd)	147.08 (55th)
Passing Yd Avg.	246.0	287.0	241.0	258.0 (28th)	330.24 (4th)
Quinn Passing Eff.	114.91	163.91	92.2	123.14 (62nd)	158.40 (7th)
Total Offense	384.0	397.0	245.0	342.0 (68th)	477.33 (10th)
Scoring Offense	14.0	34.0	21.0	25.33 (60th)	36.67 (8th)
Time of Possession	35:25	33:11	26:04	31:33	32:51
Red Zone TDs	2/3 (66%)	4/6 (66%)	2/2 (100%)	8/11 (72%)	38/55 (69%)

Defense

Category	GT	PSU	UM	2006	2005
Yards per rush given up	4.2	4.8	2.9	3.9	3.9
Avg. yards per PA	5.8	5.5	10.0	6.7	7.7
Avg. yards per PC	11.7	9.4	16.9	11.9	14.6
Pass completion %	50%	59%	59%	56%	53%
Quarterback sacks	1	2	2	5	31
Rushing yards against	119.0	158.0	120.0	132.3 (68th)	132.33 (34th)
Passing yards against	140.0	225.0	220.0	195.0 (68th)	264.6 (103rd)
Passing Eff. defense	112.75	107.8	186.64	127.15 (66th)	121.41 (53rd)
Total yd. against	259.0	383.0	340.0	327.33 (63rd)	396.92 (75th)
Scoring Defense	10.0	17.0	33.0	24.67 (80th)	24.5 (53rd)
Red Zone defense	2/2 (100%)	3/4 (75%)	4/4 (100%)	9/10 (90%)	31/41 (76%)
Red Zone TD defense	1/2 (50%)	2/4 (50%)	2/4 (50%)	5/10 (50%)	23/41 (56%)

Turnovers

Category	GT	PSU	UM	2006	2005
Interceptions by ND	0	1	1	2	13
Fumbles forced/recovered	0/0	3/2	0/0	3/2	20/11
Turnovers gained	0	3	1	4	24
Had intercepted	0	0	3	3	8
Fumbles/Lost	0	1/0	2/2	3/2	17/6
Turnovers lost	0	0	5	5	14
Turnover Margin	0	+3	-4	-1	+10

Special Teams

Category	GT	PSU	UM	2006	2005
Kickoff Return average	39.5	13.0	22.6	25.0	19.0
Kickoff Return avg. allowed	17.5	13.2	14.8	14.4	21.2
Punt Return average	7.5	2.0	4.0	5.4	14.1
Punt Return avg. allowed	8.0	6.0	16.0	11.1	6.4
Net Punt avg.	41.6	44.0	39.9	40.5	36.1
Kickoff avg. / Touchbacks	64.7/1	59.1/2	60.0/0	60.5/3	59.3/10
Field Goal Att./Made	0/2	2/2	0/0	2/4	12/18

the Bad Ones | by Jay

Napoleon had his Waterloo; Shakespeare had Titus Andronicus. Even the Rolling Stones had Emotional Rescue. And speaking of flops, every Notre Dame coach, no matter how great, has suffered a bad one sometime during his career. (Some, like Willingham, have a stash of 'em).

Charlie's blowout loss to Michigan was the worst of his young tenure with the Irish, and if he's destined to be one of the greats, he likely won't top it. The very best Irish coaches have endured a Little Big Horn only very rarely, and as Dylan said below, it's usually an historic occurence when an Irish coach loses by more than a couple dozen points.

Rockne lost by 26 or more points only once in his career. Leahy, also only once. Devine never did. Ara had a couple, and Holtz, never. (Willingham, by contrast, suffered losses by 26 points or more seven different times -- in just three years.)

Herewith, the worst losses, by the best coaches:

Rockne. 0-27 loss to Army, Oct 17, 1925, at Yankee Stadium. ND had beaten or tied the West Pointers seven times in a row coming into the game, and the Irish were the reigning national champs in 1924. But the '25 Irish were a very young team, Army was growing into a juggernaut, and even Rockne thought the Irish would lose. "Army will win, but defeat will do us good. Our team has brains and ability, but it needs a lot of experience," said Rockne at the time. He was right -- the Irish were drubbed for four touchdowns and never mounted a serious threat to the Cadets.

Leahy. 0-35 loss to Michigan State, Nov 10, 1951. Leahy only lost 11 times over his career, but this was the worst, by far. The Irish were #11, and the Spartans #5, and it seemed that it would be a pretty competitve game. But on the Spartans' first play from scrimmage, halfback Dick Panin took the handoff and went 88 yards for what turned out to be the winning touchdown, and the rout was on. The Irish didn't even cross the 50 until the second play of the fourth quarter, and were outgained 465 yards to 173. After suffering the worst defeat of his career, Leahy couldn't help but crack a wistful joke: "Now I know how some of those other coaches feel."

Parseghian. Ara had a couple of bad ones, starting with a 6-40 loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on Jan 1, 1973. The Irish were 8-2, having lost to #1 Southern Cal in the regular season finale, but were outmanned by the Huskers, who featured diminutive Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers. Rodgers had a game for the ages, scoring four touchdowns and passing for another. The Irish offense was completely stalled, and didn't score until late in the fourth quarter. This Orange Bowl turned out to be famed Husker coach Bob Devaney's final game, and newly-minted Tom Osborne would take over the following year.

Ara's most infamous defeat, however, was a 24-55 loss to Southern Cal on Nov 30, 1974. It ended up a blowout, but it sure didn't start that way. The Irish were up 24-6 at the half, and it looked like ND would cruise to an easy victory. But Anthony Davis took the second half kickoff 100 yards for a score, and the Trojans exploded for a 35-point outburst in the third quarter, the most ever scored against the Irish in a single quarter. Southern Cal scored its eight touchdowns in a span of just 17 minutes, all against the #1 defensive squad in the country, one that had yielded just nine touchdowns in the ten previous games. Davis ended the day with four scores, and the Trojans scored 55 unanswered points all told. "It was the greatest, most incredible game," exclaimed the namesake, about what would come to be known as The Anthony Davis Game. "We had some magic. We turned into madmen."

Devine. 18-40 loss to Tennessee on Nov 10, 1979. The 13th-ranked Notre Dame lost to an unranked Volunteer squad at Neyland Stadium in a game that was a comedy of errors for the Irish: four fumbles (two lost), two interceptions, and failing to score three times from the Tennessee 26-, 17- and 1-yard lines. Meanwhile, the Vols drove the field at will, even despite losing starting quarterback Jimmy Streeter in the second quarter to an injury; running back Hubert Simpson scored four touchdowns. Irish linebacker Bob Crable couldn't explain the Irish performance. "We were flat for some reason...you've got to have discipline to be ready every week. Not many teams do."

Holtz. 10-35 loss to Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, Jan 1, 1988. Coming on the heels of the second-worst loss of his career, a 24-0 whitewash at Miami, Lou's first bowl game as an Irish coach was a decisive whipping. The 12th-ranked Irish actually led the game 10-3 with four minutes to go in the half, and had outgained the 13th-ranked Aggies 208-73 to that point. But Terry Andrysiak threw an interception in the end zone that A&M was able to convert into points, and then Braxston Banks fumbled on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, and the Aggies scored again. A two-point conversion on a swinging gate made it 18-10 A&M at the half. Early in the third period, the Irish forced a fumble on their own goal line, and momentum seemed to swing back to Notre Dame for a fleeting moment. But Mark Green fumbled it back to A&M on the very next play, and soon the Aggies were in the end zone again. The game ended with an ugly incident, when Aggie player Warren Barhorst, the walk-on "12th Man", stole Tim Brown's towel from around his waist. Brown ran him down and tackled him from behind, drawing a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Holtz's Irish, of course, would rebound nicely the next year.

The Gray Lining | by Pat

One of the few postives to take away from the Michigan game weekend/debacle was the verbal commitment of South Carolina cornerback Gary Gray. The highly-regarded prep player was at one time committed to his home state Gamecocks but opened his recruitment back up in the summer in order to take another look at Notre Dame. He liked what he saw while on his visit to Notre Dame and pulled the trigger to become ND's 9th player of the 2007 class.

"[Gray] kind of said that he had decided a couple weeks ago, and this trip was mainly to confirm it," [Gray's coach Duane] Wages said. "He wanted to go and experience the game day atmosphere...that solidified his decision."

Now, that might sound a little incongruous, considering ND was on the receiving end of a 26-point drubbing, but that didn't deter Gray.

“Gameday, there’s nothing like it Saturday, a gameday at Notre Dame,” Gray said Monday. “They had me doing push-ups when they scored the first time.”

Then when Michigan torched the Irish secondary on several passing touchdowns...some fans said, “See why we need you?”

As a recruit, Gray certainly has received quite a bit of attention from college coaches and recruiting services alike. In addition to offers from over 30 programs including Texas, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, and Tennessee, Gray is ranked the #6 CB in the nation according to Scout, #3 by Rivals, and #2 for ESPN's Scouts, Inc. Further more, he's ranked the 62nd-best player overall in the nation by Scout, 29th by Rivals, and #14 overall by Scouts, Inc. Not too shabby.

Another welcome trait is that Gray, like Darrin Walls and Raeshon McNeil before him, has been a cornerback in high school and won't be a convert from another position like many recent Irish corners. Obviously that's not a guarantee that he will be a successful cornerback, but it does mean that the transition from high school to college won't be as extreme as it was for some of the current Irish players who were switching to a new position.

Gray will also be an early admit, and will join Jimmy Clausen in South Bend in January for the spring 2007 semester. He will also get the benefit of an additional semester of collegiate weight training (a good thing for the 5'11" 170 pound Gray) as well as the chance to participate in spring practice and crack the secondary depth chart.

Cornerback has long been a weak link in the Irish recruiting machine, with the best corner in recent memory being a converted soccer player. But in the last two years, ND has received commitments from three cornerbacks ranked in the consenus Top 10 in the nation. Finally, there appears to be depth and talent at a position long viewed as ND's achilles heel. Again, not too shabby.

Pick Six, etc | by Jay

AP Poll here. Notre Dame drops to 12.

Pick Six update here. As you can imagine, all the ND pickers dropped like an anvil, while Southern Cal (23 points, group B), Michigan (20 points, group C), Louisville (18 points, group C), Virginia Tech (15 points, group D), and Oregon (13 points, group E) look like the best preseason bargains going right now. Miami (group C) is the only team ranked that highly in the preseason that has dropped out of the top 25 entirely. Amazingly, after three weeks of football only two unranked teams have climbed into the top 25: Boston College (6 points) and Boise State (1 point).

Big Tom Callahan from Sandusky, Ohio is all alone in the lead, with 100 points and the top team in every group (save Michigan). The Lo end of the Hi-Lo split belongs to Voidoid, whose picks of ND, Cal, Miami, Texas Tech and Stanford have him squarely in the basement with 22 points.

From the Pens of Babes | by Jay

BGS reader [name redacted to protect the innocent] just sent us this story. I'm sure many of you can relate.

Against my own better judgment, I submit to you what my 7-year-old son made for me during the ND-Mich game.

As you all know, Notre Dame brings out the best and worst of us during both wins and losses. And Saturday was no exception. Sometime during the 3rd or 4th quarter (it didn't really matter considering how the game was going), my son, who has acquired my fanatical ND Football gene as well as an astute attention to detail, noted by putting pen to paper just how Daddy (me) carries himself during a Fightin' Irish telecast.

With both giddy enthusiam and a tinge of embarrassment, I give you: The Happy Daddy...



...and the Bad Notre Dame Daddy.



(Yes, he wrote it. What can I say, he's a good speller.)

I've officially been banned from watching the games in front of the kids by my wife. And I realize it is a good thing for all.

Oh the humanity!

Go Irish!

Yours truly,
Parent Anonymous (Seriously, don't post my real name, I beg of you!)

Michigan game photo galleries | by Pat

These aren't quite as fun to look at, but here are the online photo galleries anyway.

This week we have galleries from Michigan's official football site, the South Bend Tribune, the Detroit News, Era of Ara (Irish Eyes), Blue and Gold Illustrated, SI.com, Getty Images, and the AP photo wire.

Upon Further Review - Week 3 | by Dylan

National Championships and Heisman Trophies are overrated anyway...

The typical UFR post is written after watching the weekly CFB wrap-up show on ESPN and scouring through the sports page of the L.A. Times. I’ll make some smart-alecky remarks about how poorly some of the teams on our schedule played, talk about creampuff scheduling, compare Joe Tiller to Wilford Brimley, you know the drill. Well, I watched three and a half hours of football yesterday, and that was enough. No SportsCenter, no L.A. Times. So this week’s UFR is devoted exclusively to the “Fighting” Irish. I have not re-watched the abomination, so I’ll beg your pardon in advance for any small factual errors. If you don’t like Notre Dame alums trashing their alma mater's football team, stop reading. If you’re thinking about filling up our comments box with notes about how I’m an ass and we have to be supportive of the players, don’t. Start your own blog and rip me there. I'm mad and I'm tired and I feel like I did on September 2, 1995 (which beats the numbness of November 1, 2003, I suppose), and you can take this for what it's worth.

In brief, our players got what they deserved.

In years past, particularly the Davieham years, one needed look no further than the head coach when the Irish were on the receiving end of humiliations like the one that happened on Saturday. You could tell that the game plan (or lack thereof) was the primary reason for our team getting pole-axed. Was Weis’ game plan to blame for last Saturday’s catastrophe? I don’t see how it could be. By the time the Irish ran their twelfth play, they were already down 20-7. Throw the script out the window. By the time they ran their twenty-third play, it was 34-7 and the game was over. In a non-Pearl Harbor type of game, ND’s twentieth play would have been when they began hitting their stride, taking advantage of adjustments made. For that reason, I don’t see the game as a strategic failure. However, Weis is responsible for the attitude and mental preparation of the team. For allowing this group of pre-season all-world prima donnas (on offense, at least) to show up for this game expecting to stroll out on to the field and beat Michigan, Weis earns an F-.

I also have a hard time finding too much fault with the defense, outside of the fact that Ty Willingham recruited a lot of guys who can’t play the linebacker position better than a backup running back and a 5th cornerback. While the corners did not play well, the defense gave up 150 yards passing if you take out the Ted Ginn…er, Mario Manningham bomb, and 340 yards overall to a skilled offense. The defense was not the problem in this game. They intercepted a pass on UM’s third play and forced a three-and-out on UM’s second possession. They gave up one big play and then had to defend a 27 yard long field after the fumbled kickoff. After ten minutes of play in which they forced a turnover, a punt, and allowed 36 non-bomb yards, they were down 20-7. Their reward? Another Irish three-play drive and being sent back out onto their own half of the field. In the first half, the offense let the defense rest by going on four epic three-and-out drives and one spectacular 5-play drive. The Irish mounted eight first half “drives.” The first seven were over in 22 plays. The result? The defense was made to take the field seven times, was forced to play twenty of the first thirty minutes, and gave up 242 yards and 27 points. Despite being hung out to dry by the offense, the defense gave up only two field goals in the second half.

(By the way, the Michigan game and the two games before it are that much more evidence -- call it "exhibit Z" -- that Kevin White needs to be fired. There is simply no excuse for allowing Big Ten officials to call a game between Notre Dame and Michigan. And let me be perfectly clear, the officiating had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the game (if the Irish had an ounce of heart on Saturday, it might have). However, either our opponents have been the best coached squads in the history of the universe, or there is something funky going on, particularly with the holding penalties. Notre Dame has been flagged about ten times so far this year (at least three of which were complete fabrications), while our opponents have not been called for holding once that I can remember. Officials from BCS conferences have an undeniable conflict of interest when it comes to Notre Dame. That White would allow not just BCS conference officials, but officials from our opponents’ conferences, is a demonstration of naivete at best and a negotiated surrender at worst. It’s an untenable situation that has to change, because it has, and will, cost us wins.)

Brady Quinn had the worst game of his life on Saturday. He’s picked a bad time to have a bad year. In addition to his 3 INTs and fumble on Saturday, he’s thrown about 5 balls that were flat dropped by opposing defenses. It’s a miracle that he doesn’t have more turnovers than touchdowns. We’ll have to hope that he begins playing better now that the Heisman is out of reach (the door-slamming counterargument to his candidacy is the replay of the ball flopping out of his hand and being run into the endzone by LaMarr Woodley, one of the most inept plays in the history of Irish football.). I don’t doubt he will, since he and Darius Walker are the only two players on the offense that I trust to show up every week. But he’s got to get the ball down, which might be difficult because...

This is the worst offensive line I’ve ever seen in my years of watching Notre Dame football. Before the season, when pundits were ooohing and ahhhing over the offense, I cringed when I would hear them talk about the “outstanding veteran offensive line.” A million combined starts doesn’t matter if you suck, and the seniors on the interior have been so very average for years now. It’s a testament to the absolute horribleness of Tyrone Willingham’s recruiting that these guys are playing. Morton whiffs more than Dave Kingman. He, Sullivan, and Santucci communicate about as well as Ali G and Pat Boo-Cannon, and they’re trying to get Quinn killed. Well, at least there are plenty of Juniors and Sophomores pushing them, ready to take their place when they screw up. Oh wait. @$%& YOU, TY!

Rhema McKnight has become Maurice Stovall…circa 2004. I don’t know if he expected to breeze through this season, racking up the yards and touchdowns that his backups did last year, but he’s just not there yet. I’m willing to chalk some of it up to the layoff, but he’s had more balls bounce off his hands than…well, I’ll keep this PG. But you get the picture. That’s a concentration issue, and it’s costing the team points. He has to do better if the Irish are going to beat good teams.

I don’t generally like getting into psychoanalyzing why players do stupid things, but I am completely bumfuzzled by Jeff Samardzija this year. I don’t want to say he’s dogging it, but he certainly seems less hungry (tired sports cliché alert) this year. He appeared to give up on Burgess’ second interception, running away from a blocker and leaving the dirty work for McKnight 10 yards down the field. It seemed out of character and I couldn’t help thinking about the Cubs and those seven million dollars. Shark (16 catches, 160 yards, 2 TDs, 1-2, 2.70 ERA, 17 SO through three games) needs to start playing like a backup again. Like Quinn, his dreams of postseason awards are over, and he needs to realize that he’s on the verge of becoming a footnote instead of a legend.

Here is the bottom line. Notre Dame has only once before lost a game that badly when ranked that highly (1945 versus Army). There have only been 19 worse margins of defeat in the past 50 years. It was the seventh worst home loss in history, putting Weis in the company of Brennan (2), Kuharich (2), and Willingham (3). Lou Holtz and Dan Devine never lost by more than 25 points in 202 games. Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian combined for 3 losses of more than 25 points in 223 games. I’m not pointing that out to say that Weis is applying for membership in one club or the other, but that beat-downs like we experienced on Saturday are historic occurrences. His players let him down, to be sure. But let’s not make a habit of it, alright Coach?

MSU is up next. You would think that between last year's game and last Saturday's debacle, Sparty is in for a long day. But, you'd never have thought that we'd go down 34-7 in the first twenty-eight minutes against Michigan. At this point, I'd say MSU is a 50/50 proposition. The good news? Win this one and it looks like a date with Southern Cal for a BCS bid is well within reach.

Hallelujah! Pass the Tylenol...

Go Irish.

Odds & Sods - Fredericksburg Edition | by Mike

I have not yet reviewed the game tape since returning from South Bend, so feel free to supply any corrections evident from watching the broadcast.

Dots and loops. Both before the season started and after the opening two games, I expressed concern over the matchup between Michigan's running game and the Notre Dame linebackers. For Notre Dame to win, the Irish would need to take Mike Hart out of the game. Since I didn't expect Notre Dame's run defense alone to shut down Hart, I had hoped game situations would limit Hart's opportunities - that Notre Dame would jump out to an early lead. Instead, Michigan dominated the first quarter, grabbing an early lead. This created a negative feedback loop. With a big lead, Michigan had an even greater incentive to stick with the running game, allowing Michigan to hammer away at the Notre Dame defense's weakness and open up their passing game. Mike Hart had 31 carries, and if you had been told on Friday that Hart would get that many carries, you would have known the game's winner. In other words, Michigan's offense was in a position to dictate the flow of the game. The Michigan staff recognized the enormous impact an early lead would have on this game and thus appeared willing to go for big plays earlier than they usually do in road games. As yesterday's events demonstrated, this was a great strategy.

As I watched the game unfold, I thought about how rarely Weis's teams have had to play from behind. Before the Michigan game, last year's Michigan State game was the largest deficit for a Weis-led Irish team. However, last year's linebackers - despite their problems against the pass - were quite stout against the run. Thus when MSU tried to run clock in the second half, they were attacking the defense's strength, allowing Notre Dame to get back in the game. Yesterday's game revealed how this year's Irish squad is poorly suited to overcoming a significant deficit.

Hard to explain. Heading into the game, I was more optimistic about how Notre Dame's defense would fare against the UM offense when the Irish could get into nickel situations. However, Michigan had an answer for this defense. Michigan OC Mike DeBord moved Mario Manningham around in order to match him up against Notre Dame's nickel back, Terrail Lambert. The first time this resulted in a big play, I had to give credit to DeBord. Yet when Michigan was able to get this matchup repeatedly, I had to ask why Notre Dame DC Rick Minter - and then Weis, when it continued - did not adjust to this. While Manningham's out-and-up touchdown did come against Wooden, I don't understand the rationale behind allowing the other team to line their best receiver up against one's fifth defensive back. This puzzle came just two weeks after the curious decision to leave a freshman on an island with Calvin Johnson.

Run. Michigan's defense looked markedly unconcerned with Notre Dame's running game. The gameplan appeared to be to take off after the quarterback on every play until Notre Dame gave them a reason to look for the run, which the Irish never did. Once again, the Michigan staff's decision to take more chances on the road paid huge dividends.

In the 2004 and 2005 wins, Notre Dame relied on 100-yard efforts from Darius Walker. It's hard to picture Notre Dame beating Michigan without a strong rushing performance, yet Notre Dame failed to produce any semblance of a power rushing game. Falling behind so quickly was obviously a contributing factor, but that does not entirely explain why Walker had only 2 carries in the second quarter.

No joy in Mudville. It's hard to find positives when your team gets shelled, but there are a few moments from the game that should probably be acknowledged. Filling in for an injured Asaph Schwapp, fullback Ashley McConnell recorded his first career reception and his first career touchdown in the first quarter. Last week, McConnell got the Irish a first down with a fourth-down carry shortly after Schwapp was taken off the field. It's nice to see a senior who hasn't played much take advantage of his opportunities. Needless to say, as Michigan rolled up the points, the opportunities for a fullback diminished rapidly.

Once again, Quinn guided the offense on an end-of-half touchdown drive. After taking over at the 28 with 2:30 left in the second quarter, Quinn went 7-7 for 71 yards and a touchdown. Without looking at the tape, it looked like Michigan played conservatively on this drive, and Quinn responded with machine-like efficiency. Given the contrast between this drive and most of the rest of the game, one can predict what strategy opposing defenses will employ for the remainder of the season.

It Could Have Been Worse | by Jeff

... it could have rained.

Rewind to Friday night, when I met a really cute girl who unfortunately turned out to be a Michigan grad. Unwisely, I didn't hold that against her, and I even agreed to coming up with a wager between us for the game tonight.

My first suggestion was that the loser would have to get a cat and keep it for a year; the winner would get to pick out the cat. (A special thanks to my friend Visalia Oaks manager Tom Seidler for dreaming up this type of bet a while back. And feel free to use these severe terms for your own wagers in the future.) Fortunately, she didn't go for it. My suggestions quickly moved to slightly more adult themed activites, none of which she was going for either.

Before the game this morning, we finally settled on the terms:

• The straight-up loser of the game would have to do two shots.
• Plus, I'd give her six points and the loser has to do a shot for every 3 points in the margin of victory.

So, lets take a look at what I've gotten myself into...

26 point loss	8 shots
6 point spread	2 shots
Straight up loss	2 shots
Grand Total	12 shots

Does anyone have an extra liver I can borrow?

On the Bad Side of a Whipping | by Pat

That one was rough. Notre Dame lost that game in all phases -- offense, defense, special teams, and coaching -- and Michigan came away with a 47-21 win that was about as dominant as you can get. We'll see if the team can put it behind them as they head into a stretch of games that quite honestly shouldn't be hard until the late November trip to Southern Cal. For the time being, the national championship hopes are in the hands of other teams and it's very possible that Lamar Woodley returned Brady Quinn's fumbled Heisman for the final Wolverine touchdown.

It's going to be a long night for ND fans after this, the biggest loss in the fledgling Charlie Weis era.

Wolverine Flashback | by Jay

The Ballad of Ricky & Reggie

Let me tell ya story 'bout a boy named Ho
Poor Cavanaugh kicker, only played for interhall
Then one day he got a call, it was old Coach Lou
And before he knew what happened, he was wearin' gold and blue

(Reggie, that is. From Hawaii. Five-foot-fiiiive.)

The scrappy Fightin' Irish had a problem to behold
the Wolverines were comin' and they'd try and knock 'em cold
Reggie strapped his helmet on amid the ballyhoo
and out from the tunnel roared the Maize and Blue.

(Michigan, that is. Our old nemesis. Annnn Arbor.)

Well we tried to run and tried to pass and couldn't seem to score
Until a kid from Pennsylvania opened up the door
the Irish O that day was as quiet as a mouse
so Ricky being Ricky took a punt to the house

(Watters, that is. Elbow pads and towels. "Heiiiir apparent.")

Reggie marched onto the field and lined up for the try
Counted off his paces back, and two more to the side
Suddenly he twisted 'round and threw his arms way out
Magic fingers did the trick, the Irish gave a shout.

(It's up, and It's good. Right down central. Threeee points.)

Reggie booted two more kicks and split the poles between
Yet the Skunkbears had the lead, 17-16.
A minute left, would magic fingers work just one more time?
Irish faithful said a prayer -- Reggie was sublime.

(Perfect, that is. Four field goals, and an extra point. Alo-haa.)

Now Michigan got one last shot to move it down the field
but past the 30 yard line, the Irish would not yield
on 4th down a kick went up and towards the Irish net,
but drifted right into the night -- thank God for Mike Gillette.

(Close shave, that is. Holdin' our breath. Irish win!)

Now Ricky being Ricky, his football career was grand
And Reggie, he's a doctor, fixin' folks across the land
But on that night in eighty-eight they sailed the Irish ship
And in the end, come New Year's Day -- a National Championship.

(Eleventh, that is...aaand countin')

Handy Household Tips for scUM Removal | by Michael

ScUM can find its way into the damnedest of places, but with gameplanning, some elbow grease, and a little vim and vigor, it can be removed quite effectively. Here are some basic suggestions for cleaning your home field from scUM.

How to Attack scUMmy Buildup

• Make Michigan's base defense defend your backs and tight ends. Last year Notre Dame had much success using its personnel package of 3 WRs, 1 RB, 1 TE. They spread the field, which forced Michigan's base defense to defend the pass from sideline to sideline. In the process, this opened up running lanes for Darius Walker until Michigan finally adjusted. Last year, however, Weis had the benefit of gameplanning with three outstanding receivers in Jeff Samardzija, Maurice Stovall, and Rhema McKnight. This year is different, not only on the Irish side, but also on the scUM side. Ron English will bring a much more aggressive defense to South Bend. Don't be surprised to see the Irish force the Michigan linebackers to defend every inch of the field using Walker, John Carlson, Marcus Freeman, and possibly even Munir Prince. There are winnable match-ups for Notre Dame against scUM.

• Run right at defensive end Lamarr Woodley. I'd expect one of the Irish TEs (Freeman) to line up next to Ryan Harris and pound Woodley on running plays. Given that the left side appears to be the strength of this Irish offensive line, it would make sense for the Irish to focus their running game at Woodley rather than allowing him to chase down plays from the backside.

• Misdirection also has a way of washing scUM defenders away. English wants an aggressive defense, and given the results of Penn State's passive defense as compared to Georgia Tech's aggressive defense, it would be surprising if scUM's attack didn't mirror the Yellow Jackets' gameplan. Charlie Weis didn't call any misdirection plays against Tech (to the best of my memory), and the only memorable one from the Penn State game was the brilliant play fake to Samardzija in the slot followed by the hand-off to Walker up the middle. That could all change on Saturday. Sometimes scUM can get too aggressive (see the beautiful counter draw run by CMU), and I suspect there will at least be one trick play that incorporates misdirection.

• The Irish can make life difficult for scUM's linebackers by spreading them out and isolating them in coverage. Especially David Harris, the middle linebacker. Then, if scUM adjusts by bringing in nickelback/safety Ryan Mundy, it might be easier to run the football.

How to Defend Your Home from scUM

• Stop Mike Hart. I don't care how it's done, whether it's 4-3, 3-4, 4-2-5, 5-2, 4-4, 3-3-5, or 8-1, but the defense must control the line of scrimmage and prevent Hart from consistently picking up yardage. Also, Hart must not be allowed to get out of bounds, because every time he totes the ball, he should be punished by at least two tacklers. I'm going to guess that Minter and Weis will be creative and variable with the defenses we use Saturday.

• Force Chad Henne to beat you. Braylon Edwards is gone, and so is Jason Avant. The tight end production just hasn't been as good as it once was. As a result, for the first time since 2002 the Irish finally have corners whom we should feel confident can defend the pass. If there are eight guys defending the run, the corners will have man coverage. On the plus side, the Irish can blitz aplenty against Henne; pressure causes him to make not only mechanical errors (throwing) but also mental errors (progressing too quickly to his check-down receiver). Dwight Ellick and Preston Jackson are no longer manning the defensive backfield, so aggression will work. Putting Ambrose Wooden, Mike Richardson, and Terrail Lambert on islands won't have the same results.

• Wrap up, wrap up, wrap up. Make scUM earn every inch of the field.


That's it. Four easy steps to rid your house of scUM, and three more steps to make sure it doesn't come back. If problems persist, there are always Special Teams who should be able to dominate scUM in the coverage and return games.

Yep, special teams. Placekicking? Let's just hope it doesn't come down to that.