“Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.”

Saturday, September 12th was a poor start to a highly anticipated football season for myself.

I spent the first part of my day in the pouring rain of New Jersey, seeing my high school lose a heart-breaker to a team after they had won the 1st half, 21-18.

The second part of my day consisted of watching my favorite program in all of sports, lose to a bitter rival, after winning the first half, 20-17.

After seeing the referees walk away from a hobbled Charlie Weis after the clock hit 0:01, a few minutes of screaming followed.

“Refs, you blew this game! Get off the field, and go call back another indisputable play! Why don’t you call another holding call on Sam Young for a simple pancake block? Oh, and your going to call back a 70-yard pass by Rudolph for that call too? Fantastic!”

Looking back at those quotes, I can only wish it had been that clean.

As I walked away from my television fuming out of the ears, mixed emotions spilling from my body, and exhausted from defeat, I took some time to relax.

When I woke up, I decided to write this piece. Back to reality, reading thousands of posts across the Notre Dame Internet world, and looking back on the game, I feel there are a few things that need to be straightened out.

There are no “what if’s” in college football.

What if the ref’s had awarded the Irish the second left on the clock?

What if the ref’s hadn’t been straight off the street?

What if they hadn’t called back a screen-play touchdown from Allen?

What if Nick Tausch hadn’t missed a 28-yard field goal in his first career attempt?

These are all some examples I have seen over the past few hours on various Notre Dame communities, and my answer to all of these are simple: We lost the football game.

Michigan outplayed Notre Dame with a freshman quarterback in Ann Arbor, and won. Did the Irish make many mistakes and beat themselves most of the game? Absolutely. But in the end, Michigan deserves a round of applause for winning the football game.

It just doesn’t matter that the offense played well—the defense didn’t.

It doesn’t matter that the refs made some awful calls—plenty of Irish teams have been victimized by similar calls, yet still came out with a win.

It doesn’t matter that you think Notre Dame should have won—they didn’t.

Sports are full of ups-and-downs. You can’t experience great thrills and happiness without dealing with tears and defeat.

Being a good winner in sports is simple.

But being a good loser in sports is one of the hardest things to accomplish, especially in the eyes of agonizing defeat.

The true definition of a fan will be defined today on September 13th, 2009. Those Irish fans that are behind Weis and his team will be angry and tired. Yet, these same people will back Weis and his team and support them for the rest of the season.

College football teams don’t play two games—they play twelve.

So here is my challenge to the Notre Dame fans all over—are you going to give up because of one bump in the road, or are you going to help get them over that bump?

Some of you might be tired of supporting an inconsistent team. I, for one, might be one of you.

Some of you might be tired of supporting Charlie Weis and his lack of success in big games and games he should win. Again, I might be one of you this season.

However, some of you are tired of supporting the program, and that is where the line between a true and a bandwagon Irish fan divides.

Find out what kind of fan you are, commit to it, and challenge yourself.

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Last weekend both Notre Dame and Michigan rolled to very convincing victories setting up another big early season matchup between the Fighting Irish and Wolverines.

Both teams are looking to raise expectations this season with a big win in this storied rivalry. For Notre Dame, a win could catapult their program into the top 15 and set up another big game next weekend against Michigan State. A win for Michigan would bring the Wolverines back to respectability and give them much needed confidence as the Big Ten schedule approaches.

Let’s go inside the Irish huddle and head out to the Big House in Ann Arbor for a look at this afternoon’s game.

Michigan kicks the ball off to Notre Dame. It’s a bit of a surprise to see Barry Gallup Jr. back to receive.

Notre Dame comes out on their first drive and is moving the ball down the field with ease. On a crucial third down inside the red zone Weis dials up a quarterback sneak that gets stuffed. To make things worse, freshman kicker Nick Tausch misses his first field goal. Has there been a curse cast on Irish kickers?

Michigan gets one first down but their drive stalls fairly quickly. Forcier escapes a sack but is unable to scamper for a first down. Notre Dame will have to make sure they wrap up Forcier and Robinson when they get pressure close enough to get their hands on them if they want to win today.

Notre Dame gets the ball back but looks sloppy on a three and out. It appeared Armando Allen missed a blitzing Wolverine defender on third down and Clausen was forced to throw the ball away.

Michigan is starting to get some momentum and just completed a long pass on a circus catch by the Wolverine wideout. After a holding penalty, Michigan runs three successful plays and picks up a big first down.

After a big run by running back Brandon Minor the Wolverines are looking at first and goal. Michigan dials up Minor again and he puts the ball in the end zone after a great second effort.

It’s a big offensive series for Notre Dame as they are trailing for the first time this year. Allen breaks off another big run on first down. A 41 yard screen pass for a touchdown was just taken away after a review claimed that Allen had stepped out of bounds at the 22 yard line. It didn’t seem to be very conclusive at all that Allen did in fact step out. Is that a Big Ten official crew in the replay booth?

After a timeout the Irish are unable to gain a first down. On third down another horrible play call as Clausen throws an inaccurate fade route to Floyd that lands out of bounds. The good news is that Tausch hits the ensuing field goal to put Notre Dame on the board.

On the kickoff, the normally stout Irish coverage team gets burned and gives up a touchdown to Darryl Stonum. The pressure is now building up for the Irish as they once again need another good offensive drive.

The Irish pick up a big third down followed by a nice long pass to Michael Floyd and another nice pass to Golden Tate over the middle. It’s imperative that Notre Dame picks up a touchdown inside the ten yard line. And that does happen with a short touchdown pass to Golden Tate.

Notre Dame makes a strong statement on Michigan’s next possession forcing them into a three and out with only Forcier’s scramble on third down being the only positive yards gained by the Wolverines.

The Irish are in a hole now after a holding penalty and delay of game leaves them at first and 25. Clausen answers with another big strike to Michael Floyd moving the ball near midfield. Clausen throws a perfect deep ball to Tate that was batted away by the Michigan defender who was also grabbing Tate’s arm. Did I mention it’s a Big Ten officiating crew?

After a first down run by Allen and another strike to Tate, Notre Dame moves deep into Michigan territory helped out by a roughing the passer penalty on the Wolverines. Seconds later Clausen goes up top to Floyd for another touchdown pass.

The Irish have answered the bell with an extremely efficient second quarter here as they have now taken the lead 17-14.

On Michigan’s following possession a sack by Brian Smith is negated by a holding call on Sergio Brown, but the Wolverines are unable to pick up a first down. The momentum in this game has quickly shifted in Notre Dame’s favor.

Allen continues to run the ball effectively but penalties are setting the Irish back on what seems like each and every possession. On a positive note, Tausch nails a 42 yard field goal and the Irish extend their lead.

With little time left in the half Michigan has moved the ball a little bit and has just converted a huge fourth and 11 bringing them into field goal territory. After a pair of off-setting penalties, Michigan is unable to move the ball any further and settles for a field goal as the clock hits zero.

This game has the feel of last weeks Nevada contest as Clausen already has 190 yards passing with two touchdowns, Allen has almost 100 yards rushing and Floyd and Tate are both having strong games. However, unlike Nevada, the Wolverines have put points up on the board and this is a very close game, even though the Irish have twice as many yards as Michigan.

Michigan has come out to start the second half and is gashing the Notre Dame defense on several plays in a row culminating in a big run by Brandon Minor down to the goal line. After three ineffective running plays including a fumbled snap, Michigan is unable to get on the board because of a missed field goal.

The Irish take over and pick up a first down after a holding penalty, but Jonas Gray fumbles and Michigan creates the game’s first turnover.

Michigan is continuing to give the ball to Minor and he is running with ease against the Notre Dame defense. That’s followed up by a nice quick pass by Fortier for a touchdown.

A big play as Gallup takes the kick off into Michigan territory and the Irish are set up with excellent field position. However, the Irish look sloppy again and are forced to punt.

The Irish get a much needed stop on third down, but Forcier takes the snap on fourth down and punts the ball down to the Notre Dame three yard line.

Notre Dame gets a break on a pass interference call but comes right back and shoots themselves in the foot with a holding penalty after Clausen connected to Rudolph on a 72 yard gain. The drive stalls and Notre Dame is forced to punt.

Michigan has the ball and is moving once again as the third quarter comes to an end. That was definitely the worst quarter of football by Notre Dame so far this year. They need to step it up or risk losing this game.

After stopping Michigan on third down, the Wolverines decide to go for it on fourth and three. It’s a great decision as Forcier jukes Fleming out of the stadium and rumbles all the way to end zone for a touchdown making it 31-20 in favor of Michigan.

The Irish pick up a first down but suffer a huge drop by Tate on what looked to be a sure touchdown pass from Clausen. Luckily, Clausen connects with Floyd on a big third down conversion to keep the drive alive.

After going one dimensional with the passing game, Allen finally takes a run for a first down. Once more, Tate drops another sure touchdown pass. After a horrible spot the Irish are left with fourth and one which Clausen picks up on a sneak play. Finally, Tate catches the ball, spins, and takes it for a touchdown.

It’s time for the Irish defense to step and you’ve got to think Forcier will make a mistake at some point in this game. Thus far, Forcier has been sensational and Michigan has not turned the ball over.

Well, finally it happens as Forcier throws an interception and McCarthy takes the ball into Michigan territory.

It’s surprising how much Weis has abandoned the running game as he continues to keep Clausen in shotgun formation and throw the ball down field to Floyd and Tate. On a fade route again, Floyd is injured and has now left the game.

On third down Allen runs the ball for a big first down. On the next play, Allen takes it again and dives into the end zone giving Notre Dame the lead. On the two point conversion, Notre Dame runs a risky statue of liberty play and Allen takes it in for the points, but is flagged for taunting by the official.

Allen simply put his finger to his mouth to “hush” the crowd and the flag was thrown. Boy, if you think the best officials are those that go unnoticed, this game is not for you.

Michigan gets great field position after the kickoff and is already in Notre Dame territory. Lucky for the Irish Michigan fumbles, but recovers, and Forcier misses a receiver on third down.

There’s three minutes left and Notre Dame is without Michael Floyd on offense. On first down Allen takes it for a big gain to the left side, but comes up bit gimpy. Once again, the Irish try to go deep to Tate to no avail.

Clausen can’t hit Shaq Evans who is in the game for Floyd and Notre Dame is forced to punt. Another lackluster punt from Maust gives Michigan great field position with two minutes to play.

Two plays later and Michigan picks up a first down, but Forcier gets blasted by John Ryan and the Wolverines are forced to take a timeout with just over a minute remaining. It’s coming down to the wire in Ann Arbor.

A couple successful passing plays by Forcier move the ball but Michigan takes their last timeout with 30 seconds left to play. On the next play Forcier connects for another completion inside the Irish five yard line.

A huge drop and it’s second and goal, but Forcier doesn’t miss as he connects for the touchdown with 11 seconds left. Michigan now leads 38-34.

Somehow two seconds were taken off the clock despite Notre Dame not touching the ball on the kickoff. With nine second left Clausen hits Tate over the middle but he is tackled with one second left and the clock runs out.

This was a gut wrenching loss for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

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On his message to the team …

“They win together, and they lose together. There were plenty of opportunities on offense, defense and special teams to win that game. We can’t pout and say we should have won the game. We had a chance to close it out on offense and on defense. But we gave up a home run on special teams. Basically it’s time to say where you’re going from here.”

On Notre Dame’s last offensive drive …

“We ran it first of all and then we ran again. But what they decided to do after that first run was load up the box and not let us do that. We saw that on the second run. They had a change of mentality, and they weren’t just going to sit back there and let us run the ball. So we went to a quick, three-step drop — the same pass we had been hitting all day. But then we threw an incomplete pass, and now it’s third-and-long. So then you have two choices — you run the ball just to make them use their timeouts or you try and win the game. When it got to the third-down call, we threw the ball over to the right-hand side over to Shaquelle Evans, and we were just a little off on it. He was open, and we had an opportunity to pick up that first down and try to run it out from there.”

On the last play of the game …

“The plan was to try to get the ball to about midfield and get out of bounds so we could take a shot at the end zone. Of course [Golden Tate] could have fallen down and we have one timeout left, so of course I’m yelling, ‘Get down, get down.’ But as an athlete in that situation he’s thinking that he might have a chance to take it to the house right there. It’s just one of those situations that you practice. If you have one second left you have a jump-ball play and try to throw the ball into the end zone because we had a timeout left that we were trying to spend right there. The clock runs out — there was zero or one second left and you’re not going to get that with it being so close.”

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Saturday, September 12, 2009

#23 Notre Dame at Michigan

Michigan Stadium

Ann Arbor, MI

Kickoff: 3:30 pm EST

TV: ABC

Announcers: Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analysis), Holly Rowe (sideline)

Sirius Radio Channel: 123

XM Radio Channel: 144

Weather

Point Spread: Notre Dame by 5.5 points

Series Record: 20-15-1 – Michigan

Series Record in Ann Arbor: 11-7

Buy Tickets

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On the heels of Notre Dame’s most lopsided victory under head coach Charlie Weis, junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen and sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd have received national accolades for each of their performances. The duo helped lead the Irish to a 35-0 victory over Nevada.

Clausen is one of four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award following his 15 of 18 for 315 yards and four-touchdown performance against the Wolf Pack. Fans determine the recipient of the weekly award by Jimmy . There is no limit on fan voting and the winner will be announced during Thursday’s ESPN college football game.

Floyd caught four passes for career highs of 189 receiving yards and three touchdowns. His receiving total was best among Football Bowl Subdivision players in week one. Floyd was named National Performer of the Week by College Football Performance Awards.

The Irish return to the field this Saturday when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face the University of Michigan.

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Twenty years ago, name recognition in the Heisman Trophy was everything. Now, often it can work against you. Just ask former Irish quarterback Brady Quinn about that one.

Heisman voters love new blood in the discussion. Clausen had a sensational start Saturday. His 303.67 passing-efficiency rating leads the admittedly heavily skewed national stats.

He is also one of four national finalists for something called the “AT&T All-America Player of the Week,” which presumably has more to do with his 315-yard, four-TD day than his cell phone usage. That’s a much more sane discussion at this point of the season than the one with the H-word.

For Clausen, his breakthrough — whether it is Heisman-esque or something more mortal — will have everything to do with how he handles his next brush with adversity.

That is the next step in his evolution. If Clausen navigates it as well as he did the overmatched Nevada secondary Saturday, then he’ll consistently put up the big numbers, but more importantly, find ways to put his team consistently in the win column.

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The Nevada Wolf Pack took the field on Saturday afternoon with an explosive Pistol offense invented by their Hall-of-Fame coach Chris Ault, but left South Bend feeling as if they were left with a BB gun offense.

After a 35-0 victory over Nevada, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish got their 2009 season off to a tremendous start. The Irish scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and never looked back.

The victory for Notre Dame raises expectations for a team looking to assert themselves as BCS contenders and prove themselves as one of the elite programs in college football. Certainly there were many positives to take away from such a convincing victory, but there were also some problems that need to be addressed before the Irish head to Ann Arbor next Saturday.

Positives

Obviously, the offense looked impressive and executed as if it was not the first game of the season. Jimmy Clausen’s 15 for 18, 315 yard, 4 touchdown performance was as good of a start as anyone could have asked from the team captain who now leads the nation in passer rating.

The receivers looked polished as Michael Floyd and Golden Tate proved they deserve to be considered as the best duo in the country. Tate finished with only 3 catches for 59 yards, but also blocked well and grabbed the attention of the Nevada defense. Floyd on the other hand, put together one of the best performances from a receiver in school history with 4 catches for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Michael Floyd: 4 Catches, 189 Yards, 3 TD's vs Nevada

The running game showed some improvement from last season and the offensive line showed some promise as well. Armando Allen looks like he’s become stronger and led the way with 78 yards on 15 carries to go along with a touchdown. The team as a whole gained 192 yards on the ground, outgaining one of the nation’s strongest running games in 2008.

The pass protection for Irish quarterbacks was excellent all day long and Nevada was unable to record a sack all day long. Another positive was that the offensive line looked very mobile and strong on the numerous screen passes that were dialed up by Charlie Weis.

On the defensive side of the ball, Notre Dame deserves credit for shutting out one of the stronger offenses in the nation. The Irish defense continually harassed Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick blitzing 37 out of the first 50 Wolf Pack snaps.

The Irish limited Nevada to only 184 yards on the ground, well below their 2008 average, and denied the Wolf Pack the opportunity to establish a consistent passing attack. Safeties Harrison Smith and Kyle McCarthy played well combining for 15 tackles and McCarthy also intercepted a ball as well.

Linebackers Brian Smith and Toryan Smith led the way with very strong games including a combined eight tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks.

The special teams play was limited as Notre Dame did not attempt a field goal throughout the entire game, but freshman kicker looked steady in his extra points and kickoffs. As usual, the Irish kickoff coverage was smothering and dominant.

Negatives

There are a few negatives to dwell upon for Notre Dame. Although they kept Nevada off the scoreboard, the Wolf Pack could have easily put up 20 points having missed a field goal, fumbled at the five yard line, and failed to convert a fourth down deep in Irish territory.

Even though the heavy Irish blitzing attack harassed Kaepernick all day long, Notre Dame continually over pursued into the Wolf Pack backfield as running back Taua gashed through the defensive line for big gains. Taua averaged 6.3 yards per carry and was able to net over 100 yards on the ground as the sole bright spot for Nevada.

Another thing the defense must work on is wrapping up tacklers, especially in the backfield. When the Irish were able to surround Kaepernick, the elusive quarterback was able to sneak away and turn losses into decent gains. The Irish will want to make sure they tackle better in the continuing weeks.

On offense, Clausen and company pretty much had their way the entire contest, although the offensive line still seems to lack the big push up front. Still, the Irish racked up a lot of yards on the ground but only ended up averaging 4.3 yards per carry.

Summary

This was a very strong opening week win for Notre Dame and a very good warm up for the Michigan Wolverine spread option attack. I would have liked the Irish to stretch the field a bit more, particularly with Rudolph, but I get the sense Weis was playing it rather conservative.

Out of Notre Dame’s first 40 snaps on offense, 22 came in either I-formation or in a two tight end set. Clearly, Weis wanted to establish a power running game right from the get-go and wanted to see what Allen, Gray, and Riddick could prove.

Probably the most inspiring part of this victory by the Irish was that they came out to play from the opening kickoff and that we saw numerous backups contribute effectively throughout the entire game.

With many backups in by the fourth quarter, it would have been nice if the play calling didn’t go into a shell in typical Weis fashion. Hopefully, in the coming weeks we will see more than just a series of running plays when the Irish take large leads into the second half.

Three Stars

1. Jimmy Clausen

This was a no-brainer as Clausen put together his second straight near perfect game.

2. Michael Floyd

Despite only four catches, Floyd put up the eighth most yards in Notre Dame history and is proving himself to be one of the best receivers in the country. Most of all, Floyd showed top-end speed that looks downright scary given his size and strength.

T-3.

Brian Smith

Brian Smith was the most active Irish defender and looks like he could be the number one linebacker on the team once again. On numerous plays he was in the in the Nevada backfield wreaking havoc and forcing Kaepernick into mistakes.

T-3.

Manti Te’o

Te’o only saw limited action, but looked every bit the number one defensive recruit in the nation. He had three huge hits, including two tackles and seems as if he is so much stronger and faster than anyone else on the field. It wouldn’t surprise me if Te’o is starting soon.

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FightingIrishGameday Correspondent

After many months filled with anxiousness and nervousness, Notre Dame took the field against Colin Kaepernick and the Nevada Wolf Pack.

And shut them out.

Some analysts and TV “personalities” had the Irish on upset alert this week, and Weis and his team took this as an insult. In return, Notre Dame held 2008’s No. 3 ranked rushing defense to 153 yards on the ground and 307 yards of total offense. Not to mention, zero points.

Likes

• The shutout. Not only did Notre Dame achieve it’s first shutout since 2002 against Rutgers (42-0), they shutout one of the top rushing offenses in the nation. Although putting 35 points on the board against Nevada is a good sign, it isn’t nearly as impressive as holding them to zero points. Realistically, Nevada only had two or three drives that put them within field goal range.
• Jimmy Clausen. In his last two games, both against WAC teams, he has totaled 716 yards passing (37-45), with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. He looks like he has finally taken his game to the next level, only making one or two mistakes today. His worst throw came on 70-yard underthrown touchdown pass to Floyd.
• Offensive line play. Luckily for the Irish, you didn’t hear much about the line during the game. Besides a few missed blocks, the line was producing consistent holes for the running backs all day. On one of the first plays from scrimmage, Sam Young was seen without his helme\nt and screaming after gaining a yard for a first down. That defines the terms “physical” and “passionate”.
• Floyd/Tate duo. Michael Floyd is going to get all of the credit on ESPN tomorrow for his 189 yards and three touchdowns. He had a career day averaging 47.3 ypc. However, the unspoken hero in this one was Golden Tate. On two of Floyd’s touchdowns, Tate was the difference maker by throwing blocks for the sophomore left and right. Even though he wasn’t the leading receiver on the day, he was still the first player to lead the charge to the student section. A great sign showing Tate cares more about the team success than his own.
• Reserve/Freshman impact. The Irish could not of played a more valuable game today for many reasons. One of them, however, is the experience given to the backups and second-stringers. Theo Riddick showed that he deserves to see the field this year with his athleticsm. Manti Te’o is a man amongst men. On his first play of his career, he hustled back from being knocked down to prevent a first down. Expect him to nail down a starting spot before the USC game.
• Alex Flanagan. Enough said. I would take her over Erin Andrews anyday of the week.

Dislikes

• Rush Defense up the middle. If you told me we would give up 153 yards against the No. 3 rush offense before this game, I would have taken it without question. The only reason I list this as a dislike is the run-stopping up the middle. The tackles seemed to get pushed around a lot today, which led to some big gains up the middles. If it weren’t for the stellar linebacker production, this could have been a different game. The tackles need to be more physical and be less soft against the run.
• Tackling. Especially in the first quarter, linebackers and backs seemed to be whiffing on a number or tackles. Even Kyle McCarthy, Mr. Consistent, didn’t wrap up on a few. Tenuta should pull out the tackling dummy this week in practice because the defense cannot afford to miss tackles, leading to big gains.
• Soft pass coverage. For reasons uncertain, the Irish defensive backs consistently gave the Wolf Pack receiver’s plenty of cushion. I would have liked to see tighter coverage, especially with the number of bodies the secondary has. The reason for the cushion might have been in order to limit the big plays.
• Cierre Wood and Robert Hughes. With five possible threats in the offensive backfield, it will be a difficult task to get all of them consistent carries. However, I was disappointed not to see Wood on the field today due to his freakish athleticism. Hughes played rather average after not seeing a carry until the fourth quarter. My prediction is Weis names Hughes as the eventual predecessor to Aldridge at fullback.

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