Outside The Tunnel

Notre Dame- Utah Preview

2010-11-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame-Utah Preview:

QB's: Notre Dame comes into the game with a new starter at QB in True Freshman Tommy Rees, who on the season has a 61.9 completion percentage with 413 yards, 4 TDs and 4 INTs, he will be the starter for the rest of the season with Soph. QB Dayne Crist out for the season with another knee injury. Utah brings in Soph. QB Jordan Wynn, but has depth with solid backup Terrence Cain, Wynn has 1,579 yards, a 65% completion rate, 14 TDs, and 8 INTs in 7 games, while backup Cain has a 76.6% rate with 602 yards, 6 TDs and no INTs in 6 games. With Wynn coming off a game where he had just 148 yards and a couple INTs, it is unsure how he performs, but Utah has solid depth at the QB position.

Edge: Utah

RB's: Utah is lead by a pair of backs in Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata who combine for 1,038 yards and 15 TDs on the ground, but both average under 5 yards a carry and both can catch the ball out of the backfield. Notre Dame starts redshirt freshman Cierre Wood, who has 274 rushing yards, 141 receiving yards and 4 total TDs, Wood has all 4 of his TD's in the last 3 games and has really come on with Armando Allen out for the year. Robert Hughes is the backup and has 17 carries for 90 yards and is the short yardage back. Utah allows only 111 yards on the ground a game, but in the last game allowed 177 yards to TCU.

Edge: Utah

WR's: Notre Dame brings in All-American candidate Michael Floyd who leads the team with 55 catches for 728 yards and 8 TDs, on the opposite end is TJ Jones who has 22 catches for 287yards and 3 TDs. Slot WR Robby Toma should get more catches along with TE Tyler Eifert, with WR Theo Riddick likely out for the season and Kyle Rudolph out for the year. Utah is lead by Jereme Brooks and DeVonte Christopher who combine for 1,032 yards and 9 TDs, along with Shaky Smithson who has 14 grabs for 243 yards and 3 TDs. Despite a banged up WR unit for the Irish, Michael Floyd should lead the way against an exposed Utah pass defense after it was shredded last weekend.

Edge: Notre Dame

OL: Utah returned 4 starters from last years unit and is allowing an impressive 4 sacks on the season while opening the way for 176 rushing yards a game and 23 rushing TDs. This is easily the best OL the Irish face this season. The Irish OL allows 17 sacks on the year, but only opens for 113 rushing yards a game.

Edge: Utah

DL: Utah goes with a 4-3 and returned a very experienced DL that combines for 114 tackles, 12 TFL, 5 sacks, and 2 passes broken up. The Irish lost NT Ian Williams for the season and the starting DL for the Irish now combine for 84 tackles, 11 TFL, 7 sacks, and 3 passes broken up. The units here are even for the general part and should have solid games.

Edge: Even

LBs: The Irish should get back Carlo Calabrese who missed some solid time at the mid season. the Irish are lead by the ILB duo of Manti Te'o and Carlo Calabrese who combine for 159 tackles with 100 from Te'o and also have 12 TFL and 2.5 sacks with a pair of passes deflected. The other LBs, Kerry Neal and Darius Fleming combine for 66 tackles, 9 TFLs, and 7 sacks with an INT and 4 broken up passes. The backups Brian Smith, Steve Filer, Prince Shembo, and Anthony McDonald should get some playing time with this being the best unit of the Irish. The Utah LB Unit had to replace all its starters from last season and its combined total is 172 tackles, 12 TFL, 2.5 sacks, an INT and 3 passes broken up.

Edge: Notre Dame

DB's: Utah replaced most of its defensive backfield from last season and allow 189 yards on the season, with a total of 169 tackles, with 16 TFL, 7 sacks, and 5 INTs, top DB Lamar Chapman also tends to be what appears to be a Rover position as he has 9.5 TFL with 5.5 sacks in addition. The Irish combine with 180 tackles out of the starters, and 2 others have a total of 53 tackles. The DBs have 12.5 TFLs with Blanton having 1.5 sacks. The DB's have 8 INTs total and the Irish play deep at this position but are now allowing 228 yards a game. This is an even area again.

Edge: Even

K's: The Irish have Lou Groza candidate David Ruffer who has 18 straight FGs and is 13/13 on the season with 2 XP's blocked. Utah brings in Joe Phillips who is 9 for 10 on the season with a miss of 42 against Air Force and 48-49 on XP's.

Edge: Notre Dame

P's: Utah's Punter is Sean Sellwood who has 42.7 average with a long of 67, 3 touchbacks, 12 fair caught, 9 in the 20, and 9 over 50 yards, but has had 2 punts blocked. Ben Turk for the Irish has a 39 yard average, with a long of 56, 3 touchbacks 16 fair caught, and 18 in the 20 and 6 over 50 and none blocked.

Edge: Notre Dame.

Other: Utah has a great return unit with PR Shaky Smithson who has 25 punts returned for 570 yards and 2 TDs, Reggie Topps has a punt returned for a 10 yard TD. Reggie Dunn on the KR unit has 5 KR's for 183 yards and a TD. Utah is fresh off a 47-7 loss to TCU and was dominated all game by the one of the best defenses in College Football, if not the best. The Irish had an extra week to prepare for this one and despite being an underdog by 5 points, can pull this off.

Prediction:

Notre Dame 27, Utah 24

Notre Dame - Pittsburgh Preview

2010-10-04T16:11:00.001-07:00

Notre Dame - Pittsburgh Preview:

QB's: Pittsburgh had to replace one of the most important players on there offense from last season, Bill Stull. Soph. Tino Sunseri has been the starter, who in 4 games has thrown for just 689 yards for 4 TDs and 2 INTs, while he has completed 63% of his passes, he has only averaged 172.2 yards a game. Notre Dame's Dayne Crist by comparison, has thrown fo 1,358 yards, 10 TDs, but 4 interceptions with a 58.2 completion rate through 4 and a half games. While both QB's are in the first year of starting, Dayne Crist has been more efficient through the first 5 games of the season.

Edge: Notre Dame

RB's: Pittsburgh's backup RB, Ray Graham is coming off a career game against Florida International, where he rushed for well over 200 yards, and posted the second highest total in Pittsburgh's history, only behind Tony Dorsett. Pitt's main starter, Dion Lewis has only rushed for 143 yards and 2 TDs, compared to Ray Graham's 492 and 5 TDs. While Lewis missed the last game with a shoulder injury, it is unknown if he will play. Graham is averaging 164 yards a game in 3 games of play and is dangerous. Notre Dame's leading rusher is Armando Allen with 392 yards and 2 TDs and is averaging about 5 yards a carry. While Notre Dame held Boston College to 5 rushing yards, they face a test in Pitt's RBs.

Edge: Pittsburgh

WR's and TE's: Due to Pitt's QB's not playing to the level expected, WR Production has been low with Jon Baldwin leading the way with 211 yards and 2 TDs and the second guy is Mike Shanahan (no relation to the Redskins Head Coach) with 190 yards and no TDs. In comparison, Notre Dame is lead by Michael Floyd with 408 yards and 2 TDs. Floyd is accompanied by All-American lock at TE, Kyle Rudolph who has 290 yards and 3 TDs, slot WR Theo Riddick with 320 yards and 3 TDs, and TJ Jones with 159 yards and 2 TDs. All in all the Irish WR and TE unit outclasses the under performing Pitt unit.

Edge: Notre Dame

OL: The Irish defense allowed just a single sack in the 31-13 win over Boston College, which has the Irish allowing 9 sacks on the year. The Pitt has also allowed just 9 sacks as well. Both units on paper feel even, but the Irish Defense has accounted for 13 sacks, compared to Pitt who has 10, despite the loss of top DE Greg Romeus. This is an interesting matchup overall.

Edge: Even

DL: The Irish DL is led by the tandem of Ian Williams, Kapron Lewis-Moore, and Ethan Johnson who have combined for 48 tackles, 5 TFLs, 4 sacks, and an interception. Pittsburgh's starting DL (a 4-3 DL) has combined for 54 tackles, 15.5 TFLs, and all 10 of Pitts sacks, in addition to 3 passes broken up. The Pitt DL has been productive despite the loss of Greg Romeus for the season. The Pitt Defensive Line has done more in a game less and without its top guy.

Edge: Pittsburgh

LB's: The Irish Linebacker unit is led by the ILB tandem of Manti Te'o and Carlo Calabrese who alone have 102 tackles, 9 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks. The OLBs Darius Fleming and Kerry Neal have combined for 35 tackles 4.5 TFLs, and 2.5 sacks. Combined as a unit the Irish starting LB's have 137 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, and 5 sacks. The Irish have a lot of depth at this position with key reserves Brian Smith, Anthony McDonald, Steve Filer, and Prince Shembo who had a very impressive game against Boston College. Pittsburgh's LB unit is a 3 LB unit with the leading tackler overall for the Pitt defense being Max Gruder with 24 tackles, he is joined with Greg Williams who has 21 tackles and half a TFL and Dan Mason with 16 tackles. The guys have combined for 61 tackles and have a TFL, which is all less compared to Notre Dame's Manti Te'o who has posted 64 tackles and 4 TFL's just by himself. The Irish LB's have better depth overall and have the edge.

Edge: Notre Dame

DB's: The Pittsburgh DB's have allowed 244.8 yards a game and have just intercepted 4 passes, the Pittsburgh DB unit is led by Jason Hendricks with with 21 tackles, a TFL, and no INTs and Jarred Holley who has 14 tackles, but 3 of Pitt's 4 ints. The Pitt DBs have combined for 65 tackles, a TFL and all 4 of Pitts Interceptions. The Irish DBs have combined for 106 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 6 INTs. The Irish defense has allowed 248.2 yards a game, but the Irish may not have the best depth, but are better overall in this matchup as they are playing against a QB who isn't as experienced and an under-performing Pitt pass attack.

Edge: Notre Dame

K's: Notre Dame's David Ruffer has been an amazing 8 for 8 on FGs, and perfect on PATs with David Ruffer, Pittsburgh has Dan Hutchins, who is 8-11 but is 0-3 on 40 or more yards and has only a long of 38, compared to Ruffer having a long of 46.

Edge: Notre Dame

P's: Notre Dame punter Ben Turk has been averaging 36.5 yards a punt, but has punted for 1059 yards with a long of 53 and 12 inside the 20. Pitt's Dan Hutchins who has averaged 46.1 yards a punt with a long of 59, a touchback, and 6 inside the 20 in 4 games. Hutchins has a higher average overall.

Edge: Pittsburgh

KR/PR's: The Pitt return team has combined for 27 returns for 476 yards, no TD's and a long of 54 on a KR. The Irish KR unit has been impressive since inserting Bennett Jackson as a KR, who has 4 returns for 111 yards and a long of 43. The units combine for 26 returns for 494 yards. The Irish unit has looked improved with Bennett Jackson and is getting better.

Edge: Notre Dame

Coaching/Intagibles: Brian Kelly was 2-1 against Wannstedt while the HC at Cincy and outscored Pitt 90-89 over those three years, but Pittsburgh's lone win was at home, and Pittsburgh has only played away from home once this season (a 24-27 loss at Utah), and a recent home game against Miami, FL the Panthers were outscored 3-31 to the Hurricanes. The Irish are playing with some momentum after beating Boston College 31-13 and holding them to 5 rushing yards and getting 5 sacks, Pittsburgh will likely be without its other best player, Dion Lewis, and the other best player, Greg Romeus is out with an injury. Pitt and FIU had a close game for the first 3 quarters before a 4th quarter that propelled them to a 44-17 win. The Irish look poised to build on the win against Boston College and should win 5 straight and be 6-3 heading into the game against Utah. Pittsburgh passing game hasn't done well, and will likely be one-dimensional lean on Ray Graham, and this leads to an Irish Victory.

Edge: Notre Dame

Prediction: Notre Dame 34, Pittsburgh 17

Notre Dame - Boston College Preview

2010-09-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame - Boston College Preview

QBs: Boston College has benched Dave Shinskie after 3 games this season and will be starting either Mark Marscovetra or Chase Retting. Dave Shinskie has throw for 529 yards and 4 TDs, but is completing 54.2% of his passes with 4 INT's, in last years game against Notre Dame, Shinskie had thrown 3 INTs in a 16-20 loss. Mark Marscovetra comes in with 92 yards passing, a 61% completion rate, but has thrown just 1 TD pass with an interception. Dayne Crist however has thrown for 1155 yards in 3 and a half games (being out for a half against Michigan) with 8 TDs, 3 INTs, and a 59.3% completion percentage.

Edge: Notre Dame

RBs: Boston College's primary threat on offense this season, Montel Harris has similar stats to Notre Dame's top rusher Armando Allen. Harris has 67 carries for 306 yards and a TD compared to Allen to has 61 carries for 302 yards and TD. The key difference is that Harris has played in 3 games compared to Allen in 4 games. BC has a team has rushed for 345 yards and 1 TD, compared to Notre Dame who has rushed as a team for 443 yards and 2 TDs. While Notre Dame held Montel Harris to a low amount of yards in last years meeting, it is unsure how Notre Dame will run in this game, BC has an experienced front 7 with Linebackers Mark Herzlich and Luke Kuechely and Defensive Lineman Alex Albright and Damik Scafe.

Edge: Even

WRs and TEs: Notre Dame's WR unit is lead by Michael Floyd and All-American Lock at TE Kyle Rudolph, the Irish receiving unit has combined as a whole for 98 receptions, 1262 yards and 8 TDs
spread evenly among Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, Theo Riddick, and TJ Jones. The Boston College Receiving unit took a major hit when top returning WR Colin Larmond was lost for the season before the season started, the BC receiving unit has combined for 47 receptions, 621 yards, and 5 TDs, which is less than half the receiving yards, almost less than half the TDs, and less than half the receptions. This is one of BCs most inexperienced units.

Edge: Notre Dame

OL: In three games the BC O-line has allowed 8 sacks despite an experienced front of 4 returning starters, with many of the sacks allowed in last Saturday's Loss to Virginia Tech. The Irish O-Line has allowed 8 sacks as well, but in 3 games and with a large majority of the experience in the interior line. While this might seem like an edge to BC for more experience, the BC defense has only had 4 sacks all season, compared to Notre Dame having 8 sacks.

Edge: Slightly towards Notre Dame

DL: The Irish returned all three of its defensive line starters in Ethan Johnson, Ian Williams, and Kapron Lewis Moore. Boston College returned 2 starters, and is starting all upperclassmen. The ND Starting Defensive Line has combined for 43 tackles, 4 TFL, and 4 Sacks, in addition to an Interception by Ian Williams, and 3 passes broken up. The BC D-Line Starters have 38 tackles, 9 TFLs, 3.5 Sacks, and 1 INT and 3 Passes broken up.

Edge: Even

LBs: Boston College is lead by Luke Kuechly, Mark Herzlich, and Mike Morrissey. These 3 lead Boston College's best unit, and have combined for 59 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, and half a sack. The also have an
INT and a pass broken up. The Irish are led by ILB's Manti Te'o and Carlo Calabrese who alone have 81 tackles, 5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 2 Passes broken up. The Strength of the Irish defense is these 2 ILBs. The OLBs are led by Darius Fleming, Kerry Neal, Brian Smith, and Steve Filer. While the BC LB's have under-performed compared to the Irish ILBs, even the Irish OLBs have had some under-performance, even though Darius Fleming has 3 TFLs and 2 Sacks with 17 tackles.

Edge: Notre Dame

DBs: The Irish have experience in three CBs in Darrin Walls, Gary Gray, and Robert Blanton, but have minimal depth in safety position with Jamoris Slaughter and backup Dan McCarthy having injuries at some point this season which forced Harrison Smith and Zeke Motta to play for a full game. While all 4 are back now, transfers have hurt this position for them. BC returned a solid group and have 3 INTs vs. ND's 4 INTs. The Notre Dame pass defense has allowed 238 yards a game compared to Notre Dame allowing 244 a game.

Edge: Notre Dame, due to more EXP. QB playing.

K: BC's Kicker is 5-6 with a long of 33 and a miss in the 40-49 range. David Ruffer is 7-7 and made 5 FG out of 5 FG last season. His long is 46 being 2-2 in the 40-49 range.

Edge: Notre Dame

P: Ben Turk has 21 Punts for 746 yards with a 35.5 avg. and a long of 47. BC's Punter has 14 punts for 629 yards with a 44.9 avg. and a long of 71.

Edge: Boston College

Return Specialists: Boston College on Kickoff and Punt returns has combined for 22 returns and 281 yards and no TDs. ND has 21 returns for 387 yards and no TDs. Both teams have below 20 yards average on Kickoff returns and Punt Returns BC averages only 4.4 yards a punt return, Notre Dame averages 14.8 a return. However, it is unknown who will be returning kicks for ND this weekend, making this a hard area to determine.

Edge: Even

Overall, Notre Dame has a massive edge in total offense with 1705 yards compared to Boston College having 966. However BC has allowed just 929 yards against teams such as Weber State (1-AA),Kent State (MAC), and Virginia Tech (ACC) compared to Notre Dame allowing 1735 yards to Purdue (Big 10) and top 25 teams Michigan, Michigan St. (also Big 10), and Stanford (Pac-10). The Irish have faced the tougher schedule overall and are in need of a win after losing 3 straight to 3 top 25 teams, Boston College was shut out at home to an a below average Virginia Tech team who lost at home to 1-AA James Madison. The Irish have finished the meat of the schedule and the hardest team left is Utah with a USC team that has been unpredictable this season and could gain their first loss on Saturday.

I pick the Irish to win 28-13 over a Boston College team that is playing with an inexperienced QB, a RB we shut down last season, little depth in the WR Unit, an under-performing OL and LB unit.

Shaq Evans to transfer.

2010-08-31T11:40:00.001-07:00

Shaq Evans is transfering, I wish him luck to wherever he goes. Im hearing Oregon and UCLA.

Is it September yet?

2010-08-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

Not yet, but preseason football has started and Jimmy Clausen makes his pro debut on Thursday night on ESPN at 5pm Pacific time or 8pm Eastern Time.

Too Early Season Predictions

2010-08-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

ND 35 Purdue 13
I like the Irish's chances against an inexperienced Purdue Secondary, Michael Floyd is gonna have a field day on that defense.

ND 28 Mich. 24
A Close game, but the Irish are at home, so ill give them the edge. And im sure revenge is in Sight.

ND 16 MSU 17
MSU's Depth is good in the skill positions, and have one of the best Linebackers in the country. MSU gets the edge.

ND 31 Stan. 20
The loss of Toby Gerhart is too much for Stanford, and a poor defense too from them.

ND 14 BC 24
Boston College is at their best when playing at home, Herzlich's return further's BC's edge in this.

ND 20 Pitt 23
The best team in the Big East nets a close win in a very close game.

ND 45 WMU 13
Irish blow out WMU in a game that they will be favored in.

ND 31 Navy 17
Ricky Dobbs puts on a decent show, but the one good player for Navy can't do it on his own, and the Irish get revenge for the 2009 loss.

ND 56 Tulsa 14
Irish score more than 50 for the first time since 2003

ND 34 Utah 31
in College GameDay's return to South Bend for the first time in 5 years, The Irish defeat an undefeated Utah team to go to 7-3

ND 47 Army 0
Irish pitch the first shutout of the Kelly Era.

ND 20 USC 24
USC has home-field advantage, the Irish play close, but a typical stupid call out of the worst refs in the NCAA (The Pac-10's) gives the Trojans a win.

8-4 seems like a solid prediction i'd say.

Predictions: Irish Stat Editions (offense edition)

2009-08-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Part of an ongoing series, now I predict who leads us in various statistical categories:

Clausen will lead in passing yardage, and will likely be at least 3800 minimum.

Allen will lead in rushing yardage, and will likely have at least 800 minimum.

Tate will lead in receiving yardage, and a 1000+ will be easy, and Floyd will have a 1000+ as well, Floyd would of had 1000+ last year if not for being injured.

Allen will lead in TD's on the ground, with Robert Hughes a close second

Tate and Floyd will tie for TDs receiving, and each of them will have 12+ TD's each.

Tate will lead in total TDs, as he gets one on special teams and a couple on the ground in addition to rec. TD's.

Predictions: Conference Champion Editions....

2009-08-13T07:41:00.001-07:00

Been busy as of late battling it with my kryptonite of such which still lead to less posting. Without further ado, I post my conference champions:

Big XII: Texas (3-way tie in the Big XII south again? It could happen)

SEC: Florida (Florida has this one easy, although Ole Miss will be great)

Big 10: Penn St.(Ohio St. is a possible, but it depends on how Pryor does with the loss at key skill positions, but OSU can reload)

ACC: Georgia Tech (VT's loss of Evans to an ACL for the year hurts them alot) (Paul Johnson is one of the most underrated coaches in the game right now)

Pac-10: California (All great streaks come to an end at some point, so I say this is the year the Trojans break the streak of Pac-10 titles)

Big East: West Virginia (Jarrett Brown has had more experience than most No. 2 QBs had in previous years, Sanders was re-instated, and Noel Devine is a great back)

WAC: Boise St. (Will get to crash the BCS again)

MWC: TCU (Underrated team, great defense, experienced QB, possibly could lead to double crash in the BCS)

C-USA: Houston (that offense is unbelievably awesome, and with Tulsa down, now is the time for Houston to retake supremacy in the C-USA West)

MAC: Central Michigan (LeFevour is has more EXP than ever, and CMU is one of the most underrated teams out there from the Non-BCS, WMU will give them a fight though)

Sun Belt: Troy (Troy is a team most teams will underestimate, such as Oklahoma St back in 207, and LSU last year, even if the Tigers came back)

Only #9?!?

2009-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

With und.com doing the top plays of the Weis era in this recent month they started the top 10 this week. With #10 being the Armando Allen kickoff return clocking in at #10 (I thought this would be at least #5) yesterday, I was even more shocked at #9. The lateral play from 2007 Stanford. One of my favorite plays that showcased the athleticism of the defensive secondary, I thought this play was a top #3 lock, but I was surprised to see it at #9.

Too-Early Notre Dame Predictions Part 1

2009-07-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

Game I: vs. Nevada

The opener for us. Nevada has one of the lowest ranked pass defenses last season as they allowed 311.6 ypg. They return two starters to the secondary, and will be a suspect secondary that the Irish will take advantage of and be able to pass the ball freely on. However they have a tremendous rush defense that allowed just 89ypg. Running the ball might be a bit difficult at first. I feel that the Irish will get things going on the ground, but I feel that not a single RB will top 100, as a team I think we can rush for 100+.

Clausen should put up 400 pass yards on the Nevada pass defense due to the high amount of yards allowed. Tate and Floyd will easily have 120+ each on them. The Irish front 7 will need to be ready as the Nevada will be relying on there ground game that had two 1000 yard + rushers, and return a 1000 yard rusher from 2007. The Irish will hae little trouble scoring on Nevada. Nevada will score on us due to a potent attack.

I predict the Irish will win the game 52-17 with Clausen being the POTG with 400+ passing yards and 5 TDs against Nevada.

Back again from the dead....

2009-07-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am rather busy during the offseason, which is why I rarely post. But Soon enough I hope to make game predictions and such....

However I will say we will score 60+ on a team, but not which one. Also welcome to Notre Dame Tommy Rees!

Another Loss in Hoops...

2009-02-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

Lost 79-68 last night at West Virginia, was off on Harangody's numbers by a point and a rebound (I predicted 27 and 14) as he finished with a good 26 points and 13 rebounds. Must win out at this point for at least a shot of a seed in the tournament, the lack of depth has been really killing us this season and the loss of Mr. Consistent (Rob Kurz) hurts in a way as he was a major glue guy last season.

Big Game tonight for Hoops.

2009-02-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

Preview update coming shortly.....

After winning two straight, the Hoops team needs to at least go 5-1 to finish the season (hardest games are at UConn and probably Villanova), the team is on an upswing after annihilating Louisville and beating South Florida. Every game is important right now. I expect another big game from Harangody (the usual 27 points, 14 rebounds) and I think that Jackson and McAlarney are going to be key as well.

2009 Notre Dame Football Preview: Depth Chart (Incomplete)

2009-02-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

Done in a matter similar to a college football preview, this is incomplete and is part of a larger Notre Dame football preview for 2009 that will be updated periodically.

Currently Done is the Offense and Defense, Special Teams TBA.

DEPTH CHART

QB JIMMY CLAUSEN JR. 13 st. last year, 3172 pass yds, 9 st. Fr, 1254 pass yards #1 QB HS 2007, Hawaii Bowl co-MVP
Dayne Crist rFr, RS Last year
Evan Sharpley Sr 2 st. 2007, 736 pass yds 5 TD

RB ARMANDO ALLEN JR. 13 gm/st last year, 585 rush yds, 96 yd KO return TD in bowl, Robert Hughes JR. 12 gm/st last year, 382 rush 4 TD,
James Aldridge Sr. 357 rush 3 TD last year
Jonas Gray So. backup last year

WR GOLDEN TATE JR. 13 st/gm last year, 1080 rec yds, 11 Total TD, Hawaii Bowl co-MVP
Robby Parris Sr. 4 st So 361 rec yds, 9 rec 50 rec yds last year

WR MICHAEL FLOYD SO. 11 st/gm last year, 719 rec yds 7 TD, ND Fr. records.
Deion Walker rFR, RS last season
John Goodman rFR RS last season

WR DUVAL KAMARA JR. 13 gm last year, 206 rec yds, 5 st. Fr, 357 rec yds 4 TD.
Shaq Evans Fr.
FB: Steve Paskorz So, mainly used for blocking last year.

TE KYLE RUDOLPH SO. 13 St last year, 340 rec yds 2 TD, ND Fr TE records.
Mike Ragone So., ACL LY, 11 gm Fr.
Joesph Fauria So., 1 gm Fr 0 rec.
Tyler Eifert Fr.
Jake Golic Fr.

LT Matt Romine So RS 2007, 0 ST Last year, appeared many games, backup.
Paul Duncan Sr. 13 St 07 LT/RT, inj early on last year, 5th year.
Lane Clelland rFR

LG ERIC OLSEN SR. 13 st last year, 6 ST 2007.
Chris Stewart Jr, partial ST'r 08, inj,backup 07, RS 06.
Chris Watt Fr.

C DAN WENGER JR. 13 ST last year, 2 ST 07, RS 06.
Braxton Cave So. backup last year.
Mike Golic Jr. rFR, brother Jake Golic is Fr. TE.

RG TREVOR ROBINSON SO. partial ST'r 08.
Andrew Nuss So., backup last year, RS 07.
Alex Bullard Fr.

RT SAM YOUNG SR. 13 ST last year, 12 ST 07, 13 ST True Fr. 06, 3 YR ST'r.
Taylor Dever So. backup last year, RS 07.
Zach Martin Fr.

DEFENSE:

DE: Ethan Johnson So. 13 gm last year, 3.5 sack, 5 TFL,
Kapron Lewis-More rFr, RS last year
Hafis Williams rFR RS last year

DT: IAN WILLIAMS JR. 13 ST last year, 2 st Fr. 40 tkl, 2 TFL,
Paddy Mullen Jr, 11 gm last year, backup 07, RS 06.
Brandon Newman rFr RS last year
Tyler Stockton Fr. In Spring

DE: Morrice Richardson Sr. 11 gm last year, 9 gm 2007 1 sack,
Sean Cwynar rFR RS last year.
John Ryan, hybrid DE/OLB multiple ST 07/08

OLB: HARRISON SMITH SO. 13 ST last year 12 TFL! RS 07.
Darius Fleming So. 13 gm Fr 5 TFL.
Zeke Motta Fr.
Dan Fox Fr.

ILB: BRIAN SMITH JR. 11 ST last year 6 TFL, DEF TD, ST'r Fr.,
Steve Filer So. 11 gm Fr.
Scott Smith Sr. 5th year Senior.

ILB: Toryan Smith Sr. 10 gm last year, Block Punt Return TD!
Anthony McDonald rFr RS last year.
David Posluszny rFr. RS last year

OLB: KERRY NEAL JR Co-ST'r Last year, ST'r FR.
Manti Te'o Fr. Top OLB 2009!
JOHN RYAN Sr. Hybrid DE/OLB Co-ST'r 07/08
Carlo Calabrese Fr.

FS: Sergio Brown Sr. NB Last year, 6 Pbu, 1 blocked kick.
HARRISON SMITH, possibilty, can be hybrind OLB/FS.,

SS: KYLE McCARTHY SR. 13 St last year 110 TKL! 2 INT
Ray Herring Sr. 5th year Senior.
Dan McCarthy rFR.

CB: DARRIN WALLS JR. missed 08, 12 ST 07, INT TD.
Robert Blanton 12 gm Fr, INT TD!
EJ Banks Fr. In Spring

CB: RAESHON McNEIL SR 13 ST 08, 2 INT 13 PBU!
Gary Gray So. backup 08, 2 INT
Leanord Gordon Sr.

Post-Signing Day and other stuff

2009-02-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

Posting is lite due to school and work....

Signing Day has come and gone and with a landing of a decent class (especially with getting Manti Te'o). The Hoops Team has hit a slump with seven straight losses and Harangody's double figure scoring streak (41) being broken when he managed just 5 against the Bruins last Saturday. Every game is still a must win, for not only any shot at the postseason tournament, but also seeding in the Big East Tournament.

I will be starting a preview at some point of the 2009 football season.

Back from the Dead....

2009-01-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

After a month+ of no posting, I am back with some tidbits and such. I'd discuss the Hawaii Bowl, but it is been discussed to death at this point. Golden Tate will be on some All-American lists next season thats for sure.

Oh and we have a new O-line Coach in Frank Verducci
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/ncaa/01/14/notre-dame/index.html

Welcome to Notre Dame Frank!

A look back at 2007: Part II

2008-12-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

Part II begins with Penn St., I had originally felt this is where we got our first loss last season:

Original Prediction: Penn St. 31, Irish 14
Actual Result: Penn St. 31, Irish 10.

Not too far off? Well I thought we would have a defensive TD, likely a pick six as I knew Morelli was a mistake-prone QB. Well that came true. The other TD would have come from a Sharpley pass to probably Robby Parris or Grimes. It would be close for a while, then Penn St. would pull it out (we would be down 17-14, but they score the final TDs to pull the win). The offense at times would struggle, but it would hamper a decent D to being on the field.

Next Post in this series: TBA (Possibly Monday)

Bring on Ohio St.!

2008-12-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Harangody is looking doubtful for the game for what I hear, it may be best he gets some more rest. McAlarney, Ayers, and T-Jack will lead a good game over Ohio St.

Irish 82 OSU 68

A look back at 2007 Part 1.

2008-12-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

This is a start of a series that looks back at the 2007 season from what I was expecting and what wound up happening.

Game I: vs. Georgia Tech.

Original Prediction: Irish 21, Yellow Jackets 10.
Actual Result: Yellow Jackets 33, Irish 3.

This game I had felt was a good game to open up with as I felt it would be a win before what would be a rough 3-game stretch. We would keep it conservative at times as the running game would carry us behind the running of Travis Thomas and James Aldridge. They would both score on runs below 10 yards. Sharpley was who I had starting this game as he had the most experience of the 3 QB's. He would throw a TD pass to John Carlson to help put the game away and give us a 21-10 win. We would likely have surrendered many sacks initially, but I wouldn't expect 9 sacks. Likely I had thought about 5.

However we wound up using 3 QB's and got ran all over by Tashard Choice and Johnathan Dwyer. The Secondary had a good game and Trevor Laws would begin a super season for him with many tackles and a blocked FG.

Some USC Reactions....

2008-12-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

A bit late, but oh well.

1. Obviously the offense was very 2007-esque as they struggled heavily offensively, especially in the first half. James Aldridge was the offensive player of the game as he was pretty much the only offensive player how did anything.

2. The Secondary is our strong point right now. They had 3 picks against the USC offense, and were my defensive players of the game as they did everything expected, the defense played good, the offensive woes forced the D to be on the field for far too long.

3. The team is still young and developing in many areas. While we didn't really have an established starting RB, it was a RB-by-committee this season so far. James Aldridge might have the nod of starting in the bowl with Armando Allen appearing hurt in the game. We will have to wait and see what happens.

4. Clausen still needs to really cut down on mistakes as he has thrown far too many INTs. He still developing, but must finish next season with single digit INTs (9 or less).

5. Is it me, or did our Sideline Reporter remind me of Miss Piggy? All we needed was Kermit.

Update 12/3

2008-12-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

Sorry for lack of posting, work and school still eat up alot of time.

USC Review possible tomorrow. Weis is returning it seems now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3741387

Bowl is now a definite with him returning, good chance we head Shreveport, LA for the Independence Bowl likely. Possibly against BYU in the Poinsettia Bowl too.

Hopefully Harangody returns for Saturday's game against Ohio St. Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney have done great in his abscence.

Irish Fall to UNC 87-102

2008-11-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Kyle McAlarney scored a career high 39 points and reset the school record for 3-pointers in a game at 10 in the 87-102 loss to UNC. He can make it from just about anywhere it seems. I missed the first half due to work, but the second half was an exciting showing of treys from the Irish, this may be a loss, but it shows that we can play against top competition and give a good fight (and win in the case of Texas). While we fall short of the title, this will be a great season for the Irish Hoops.

The Craziness seems to continue on ESPN

2008-11-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3727946

With that said, since it seems that the buyout is smaller than what it seems, it will make this interesting after this Saturday. I really feel that 2009 will be the make or break year. The 2008 season seems to feel like what I thought 2007 was going to be like (I thought we would have gone 7-5 in the regular season with wins over the last four, BC, Purdue, and UCLA/GT.)

2009 Football Schedule

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S05 NEVADA
S12 @ Michigan
S19 MICHIGAN ST.
S26 @ Purdue
O03 WASHINGTON
O17 SOUTHERN CAL
O24 BOSTON COLLEGE
O31 Washington St. (SA)
N07 NAVY
N14 @ Pittsburgh
N21 CONNECTICUT
N28 @ Stanford

This scedule next year looks to be very easy even though there aren't any Div 1-AA teams on it (we haven't played one since 1951 if I recall). The following year we must win every game on that scedule as each one should be winnable, we will likely be favored in all except the USC game

Update 11/26

2008-11-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

Preview for USC game this Friday.

Bring on UNC for Hoops. Our Bball team will avenge the heartbreaker from last October. The Syracuse game was a heartbreaker for sure and just about everyone in the house couldn't understand how upset i felt from that loss (Thats what I get for watching the games with my mom).

Oh well. Things will be interesting over the next few days. Posting has been down as work and school have eaten up my time as Thanksgiving week at work means the customers have become a crazed mob.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving for my readers

Irish Beat LMU

2008-11-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

I should of been there, game was on FSN Prime Ticket, may be replayed sometime this weekend.

Won 65-54. Harangody still beasting.

Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: The Preview

2008-11-21T07:37:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, the Irish return to Notre Dame Stadium after a 2 game road trip. The return is for senior day as the Irish close out the home games against Syracuse. Syracuse is 2-8, they will rely on the running game more the passing game as the Passing game is their weak point.

Extra Point: The Irish need to score big in this game, we have yet to break the 40 mark this season. We have only scored more than 30 (vs. Michigan, Purdue, Washington, and Pittsburgh) four times. I had thought we would score more than 40 (SDSU, Washington, Navy, Syracuse, and likely Purdue), 4 to 5 times. This is the game we need to score more than 40....

Safety: We managed to score our first special teams TD last season as Toryan Smith rumbled in with the blocked punt in for a TD. A Safety has yet to happen in the Weis Era, while I don't know if it happens this weekend, but it could, and the free kick will put us into good field position if it happened.

Field Goal: After a cold start (1-7 if I recall), Brandon Walker has been 9-10 since the UNC game. The lone miss wasn't in regulation, the fourth overtime in the Pitt Loss. While after the slow start, I thought he might make five more at best, yet he has overcome the pressure from some and has been hitting 90% since then.

Secondary: The Secondary has been very impressive this season (if I recall, allowing 180 per game and 22nd nationaly) (2nd nationally last season), despite the loss of Darrin Walls to personal reasons. Raeshon McNeil has been very impressive and has a knack for deflecting the football. Bruton has led this unit with 3 picks, I predict him to score a defensive TD, and with luck, a pick or two.

Offensive Line: The Offensive Line allowed 58 sacks last season, we have now turned that around extensively by allowing just 14 this season in ten games. Projected Stats show it at 17, I predict this line won't allow one this Saturday.

Touchdown: Scoring many TDs once again is needed, we scored 26 last season, that has upped to 31 this season in ten games, while it is a bit less than I thought, I feel we are going to score many this weekend.

Front Seven: The Front Seven will be without an important playmaker for the remainder of the regular season, Brian Smith. Smith has 2 career defensive TDs, a pick six and a key fumble return that was part of the win against Michigan. Toryan Smith will fill for Smith, as he had a key TD against Navy.

My Prediction: After 0 pass TDs over the pervious two games, Clausen goes wild with the throwing for a career high 5 TD passes. A rush and defensive TD will happen as well, as I predict the irish to win 52-0 in the first shutout since 2002.

No Reaction Post, but ND-LMU prediction.

2008-11-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

Didn't really get the time to do a post game for the game against Navy.

The 3-headed Monster (Aldridge, Allen, Hughes) was very effective against Navy, lets hope this is a consistent effort by them.

Sucks that Floyd and Smith are out for the regular season. Kamara and Parris got to step up, mr. consistent (Grimes) has been injured at times, but decent for when he did played.

Now for some hoops, I was going to be in attendance, but the game is shockingly sold out and I couldn't get my tix. So I expect an explosive game from Harangody and the Irish win 105-48.

Update 11/18/08

2008-11-18T07:40:00.000-08:00

Navy review coming tomorrow.

Poll doesn't change as Toryan Smith scored a special teams TD, not a defensive TD.

Irish Lay it too USC Upstate and tie the home game win streak mark.

2008-11-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Time to lead the nation in assists again, the Irish finished with 25 for the game as Notre Dame claimed a 94-58 victory over South Carolina Upstate at the Joyce Center. The victory was Notre Dame's 38th straight at the Joyce Center, tied the school record set from 1943-48 at the old Notre Dame Fieldhouse.

Luke Harangody scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds in the win, Luke Zeller scored a career high 18 points of the bench while shooting 75% from the floor, with a 4-5 from the 3-point line. The Irish were 11 of 13 from the charity stripe. The next home game won't be until Nov. 30th with a game against Furman.

Notre Dame heads west for a game at Loyola Marymount Friday, Nov. 21 before playing in the EA Sports Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week.

The Preview is Up!

2008-11-14T08:36:00.001-08:00

S0me reason it wasn't updating on a blogroll.

Also the Irish play USC Upstate this weekend, expect a possible 100point game from the Irish.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: The Preview...

2008-11-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Last year, Navy broke a 43-game losing streak over the Irish with a 46-44 3OT win. While they did beat us last season, an important pair of factors to bring in are: Navy needed 3 OT's to beat a team that would finish 3-9 and this was the worst ND team in a 44-year span. This year things are different, while Navy is 6-3 and Notre Dame is 5-4, it is the Irish that have the edge.

QB-wise, Navy has had a revolving door of QB's due to injuries and such as the QB with the most passing yards is Jarod Bryant with 265 and while Navy is an option team, the QB is still the key to that offense. While Jimmy Clausen might of thrown 4 picks last Saturday, he will improve and predict he reverse that 0-4 and throw for a quartet of TD passes.

RB-wise, while he have better talent, Navy has the overral edge with Shun White and Eric Kettani combining for roughly 1500 on the ground. At reciver ND has the unanimous edge with Golden Tate and Michael Floyd looking at both breaking the 1000-yard mark.

The Irish will likely play a game similar to the 2005 matchup against Navy, a 42-21 win. It will come down to how Navy's QB's do. Clausen had an off day and played with the flu, after that, I feel he will improve and throw for 8 TDs in the next two games. I predict the Irish to win
42-14 over the Midshipmen.

GO IRISH! SINK THE MIDSHIPMEN!

2009 Depth Chart: Defense Edition:

2008-11-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

Part 2
Same Rules apply with bold/italics

DE:
Morrice Richardson (SR)
Sean Cwynar (So/rFR) (idk if he has played this season)

DT:
Ian Williams (JR)
Paddy Mullen (SR) (has extra year of eligibility after 2009)

DE:
Ethan Johnson (SO)
or Emeka Nwankwo (JR) (has extra year of eligibilty after 2010)

OLB:
Harrison Smith (JR) (has extra year of eligibilty after 2010)
Darius Fleming (SO)

ILB:
Brian Smith (JR)
Steve Filer (SO)

ILB:
Toryan Smith (SR)
Anthony McDonald (rFR)

OLB:
Kerry Neal (JR) (Started 2007/and starting exp. in 2008)
John Ryan (SR) (has starting experience in 2007/2008)

CB:
Darrin Walls (SR) (Missed 2008 Personal Reasons, will have year of eligibility after 2009)
Robert Blanton (SO)

FS:
Sergio Brown (SR)
Jashaad Gaines (SR)

SS:
Kyle McCarthy (5th)
Jamoris Slaugther (rFR)

CB:
Raeshon NcNeil (SR)
Gary Gray (JR) (has extra year of eligibility after 2010)

In total we have 10 returning starts on offense (if you count Aldridge as a SYB, basically our power-back)

7 on defense (1 DL, 2 OLB, 1 ILB, 3 DB)

17 starters is pretty decent.

An early look at a 2009 season depth chart...

2008-11-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

Been wanting to do this for a while as I figured out a depth chart

Bold: Returning Starter
Italic: Started in 2007, missed 2008 (applies to Darrin Walls)
BoldItalic: Has starting experience
Offense: (Defense coming in next post)

QB:
Jimmy Clausen (JR)
Evan Sharpley (5th)
Dayne Cryst (rFR)

RB:
Armando Allen (JR)
Jonas Gray (SO)

Short-Yard Back:
James Aldridge (SR)
Robert Hughes (JR)

WR:
Golden Tate (JR)
Duval Kamara (JR)
Deion Walker (rFR)

WR:
Michael Floyd (SO)
Robby Parris (SR)
George West (SR)
John Goodman (rFR)

LT:
Matt Romine (JR) (iirc, has extra year of eligibility after 2010)
or Paul Duncan (5th)

LG:
Eric Olsen (SR)
Trevor Robinson (SO)

C:
Dan Wenger (SR) (has extra year of eligibility after 2009)
Thomas Bemenderfer (SR)

RG:
Chris Stewart (SR) (has extra year of eligibility after 2009)
Andrew Nuss (JR) (has extra year of eligibilty after 2010)

RT:
Sam Young (SR)
Taylor Dever (JR) (has extra year of eligibility after 2010)

TE:
Kyle Rudolph (SO)
Mike Ragone (Jr) (missed 2008, will have extra year of eligibility in 2010)

Some Bad News...

2008-11-13T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well I was supposed to be going to the Notre Dame Basketball Game against LMU next Friday, unfortunately they were basically out...

Conversation:

Me: Hi, I would like to buy two tickets for the game against Notre Dame...

Ticket Guy: Who are you for? LMU or ND? (What kind of question is that, shouldn't it be home or visitor?)

Me: ND...

Ticket Guy: No more tickets left for you guys.

ME: are there tickets left for the home side?

Ticket Guy: Those are for LMU fans only?

I call back about 20 minutes later after no luck online....

A different ticket guy tells me the only ones left are for Alums...

Pity.

Now to save for the tix against UCLA.

Update 11/12

2008-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

While I have read the article on ESPN on how the situation with Weis is ok, that isn't what this post is on...

I have the opportunity to go to a HS game on Friday and will be seeing the Nick Montana-led Oaks Christian, and wonder if I should talk aobut it in a post sometime this weekend?

New Offensive Line Commit.

2008-11-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

In light our difficulty of recruiting a left tackle in recent years (Sam Young is a RT, Romine or Dever can play LT though), we have managed to land a new 5star Offensive lineman in Chewbacca. At a towering 7 foot 4 inch height, Chewbacca looks to help anchor the offensive line next season with the graduation coming for decent LT Mike Turkovich. Chewbacca will be an early enrollee and will likely start for the 2009 Blue-Gold Game...

Harangody scores 21, with 10 rebounds in exibition win...

2008-11-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

The Irish had a productive second half in the exibition game over Stonehill with the Irish outscoring them 50-23 in the second half to lead to a 79-47 win. Sophomore Tyrone Nash scored six points with five rebounds, two steals and an assist in 11 minutes. Nash is looking to impressive and will see more time in the rotation. The game also marked the 2008-09 debut of Zach Hillesland, who missed the opening exhibition game against Briar Cliff with a right foot ailment called plantar fasciitis.

This is the Irish's year to make the run to the Final Four, this is one of the best Irish Hoops teams in awhile and will continue the home-win streak as the Joyce Center has the best home-court advantage in the country

Weis to assume play-calling duties again?

2008-11-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

From an ESPN.com article:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3692574

Coach Charlie Weis plans to take a more active role with the Notre Dame offense following a 17-0 loss to Boston College.

He's not yet sure exactly what the role will be, although he strongly hinted he could get more involved in play calling -- a role he gave up before the season in an effort to become more of a coach to the entire team.

"I'm trying to do this head coach thing where you kind of delegate. But I think that when there's a problem and it's an area where you believe that you can be part of the answer, I think you'd better go help," he said Sunday evening.

Weis was hired as the coach of Notre Dame based on his reputation as the play-caller for the New England Patriots after he helped to lead them to three Super Bowl victories in four seasons.

IMO, Weis will likely resume playcalling against Navy this Saturday, some of the playcalling has been a bit shaky in recent weeks. While I feel Weis is a decent playcaller, he isn't perfect as some mistakes have happened (4th down last year with Navy)

Notre Dame-Boston College Post-Game Thoughts...

2008-11-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

Another heartbreaker it was...

After witnessing the Irish fall 17-0 to rival Boston College, it felt hard to take in with this loss as I felt we had a shot to come back and with a controversial Interception return (there should have been holding on the BC player holding Jimmy down), I felt we would score and regroup to come back and win in a 21-10 or 14-13 type win. Well we didn't, our defense was actually decent in my opinion as they held the BC offense to 1/3 on FG's (one that Walker could have made even) and a lucky TD. While Weis looks to resume playcalling again, this should be a much easier matchup on Saturday Morning with us heading to Baltimore to play Navy. The team made quite a few mistakes in our loss, which cost us this game. While our Bowl destination is unkown as we are 5-4 and while I feel we can close out easy 2-1, it will make things interesting. It would not suprise me if there are shake-ups in the depth chart and a asst. coaching change following the season. While I would love us to head to the Gator Bowl, it may be likely we head to a mid-tier Bowl in the Big East selection like the papajohns.com or Int'l bowl.

We will wait and see. I do think with Navy's bad D, we break the 40-point mark, but my prediction comes in a future post.

Offensive Player of the game: Michael Floyd
Defensive Player of the game: Raseshon McNeil

Notre Dame Commit Cierre Wood Hurt in loss to Oaks Christian

2008-11-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Current Santa Clara Running Back and Notre Dame Commit Cierre Wood was lost to an injury less than three minutes into the fourth quarter and was helped off the field in the 49-6 loss to the Nick Montana-led Oaks Christian High School.

Wood finished with 105 yards on 21 carries.

If you get FSN Prime Ticket, the game is being replayed tonight at 11 on Sunday Night at 8pm if I recall.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/nov/08/oaks-christian-in-league-of-its-own/

Could Nick Montana be a futue Notre Dame Commit next season.

SHAQ EVANS IS IRISH!

2008-11-07T10:22:00.001-08:00

HOLY COW!

Think of the WR unit wee going to have next season: Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Duval Kamara, Robby Parris, Deion Walker, John Goodman and Shaq Evans.

This is exciting.

I am thinking of doing a projected Depth Chart for the 2009 Season.

Notre Dame vs. Boston College...The Preview

2008-11-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

In a game that shows two teams heading in different directions, we will find out what those directions are... Both teams are 1-2 in the last 3 games... While BC is favored by a field goal, it is due to the streak in this series and the homefield advantage:

Weather: It looks to be a rainy night game up in Boston, while I am unsure of the weather of BC's games this season, the Irish played in a rainy game against Michigan and forced a vast amount of turnovers en route to a 35-17 win.

Quarterbacks: Jimmy Clausen heads into the game with a 2:1 TD-Int ration with 18 TD's vs. 9 Picks. While some have been due to recievers, he too has had some overthrows turn to picks, sometimes in the Endzone (like in the MSU and SDSU game). He has improved, as 6 of the 9 picks were in the first three games where he was 6 TD's and 6 INT's, since then it has been 12 TD's and 3 Picks.

Boston College QB Chris Crane heads into the game with a chip on his shoulder as he has gone for below 1500 yards, 8 TDs, and 12 picks. He is the starter due to being a 5th year senior to replace current Falcons QB Matt Ryan. With a Fresh. QB in Dominique Davis in the waiting, who has some spot duty time, it could equal the possibility of Davis getting some PT depending on how Crane Plays.

Edge: ND

Runningbacks: The running game of the Irish has been inconsistent this season (successful against UW, Purdue, and (despite limited carries) a bit against UNC.)(had trouble vs. some other teams.). No back has truly emerged as the go-to back as the three contribute in there own ways. Armando Allen seems to be the starter, with Hughes and Aldridge in for short-yardage and goal-line situations. Aldridge has been effective at times, but has his best game against UW and has scored the three recent rushing TD's for ND. I look for him to get at least 9-12 carries and used to spell Allen in situations.

BC comes in with two backs mainly used with Montel Harris leading with 411 yards, about 22 less then Armando Allen, our current rushing leader. Harris's best games came against Rhode Island and UCF with about 250 yards combined in those two games. Josh Haden is the other back with 273 yards and is coming off a 15-carry, 71-yard, 1-TD game against Clemson and could lead to a split in carries.

The edge in the backfield is even in terms of RB's, despite the Irish having better talent overall.

Offense: While the BC Line has had Crane sacked less with 6, it will still wonder what to expect in this game. Reciever wise, the Irish have the edge with Michael Floyd and Golden Tate who have 1300 yards combined in recieving and 12 of Clausen's 18 TDs.

Possible Defensive preview coming later.

Prediction was ND 35, BC 24. Looking more into this, it may lean to a 35-20 win.

Some Early picks for the week...

2008-11-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

#23 Maryland @ Virginia Tech (ESPN, 7:30)
Maryland 24, VT 17

#12 TCU @ #8 Utah (CBS College, 8:00)
TCU 21, Utah 17

Michigan @ Minnesota (ESPN, 12:00)
Minnesota 31, Michigan 10

#11 Ohio State @ #24 Northwestern (ESPN2, 12:00)
Ohio St. 28, N'Western 20

Purdue @ #18 Michigan State (BTN, 12:00)
Michigan St. 35, Purdue 14

Wisconsin @ Indiana (BTN, 12:00)
Wisconsin 38, Indiana 10

#20 Georgia Tech @ #19 North Carolina (RAY, 12:00)
Georgia Tech 29, UNC 23

Clemson @ #22 Florida State (ABC, 3:30)
FSU 31, Clemson 21

#6 Oklahoma @ Texas A&M (ABC, 3:30)
TAMU 35, OU 34

#3 Penn State @ Iowa (ABC, 3:30)
Penn St. 20, Iowa 14

#1 Alabama @ #16 Louisiana State (CBS, 3:30)
Alabama 31, LSU 28

Cincinnati @ #25 West Virginia (ESPNU, 7:00)
WVU 31, Cincy 21

#9 Oklahoma State @ #2 Texas Tech (ABC, 8:00)
TTU 45, Ok. St. 42

#21 California @ #7 USC (ABC, 8:00)
ask me tomorrow

Notre Dame @ Boston College (ESPN, 8:00)
Notre Dame 35, BC 24

#5 Florida @ Vanderbilt (ESPN2, 8:00)
Florida 38, Vanderbilt 6

The Return....

2008-11-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

After neglecting OTT for awhile, I have decided to return and will even include my picks for football and such and some ND Coverage.

GO IRISH!

www.youtube.com/IrishFan1989

watch my videos!

The Season in Review: Final: Special Teams

2008-01-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

At long last, here is my season review on Special Teams.

I felt that the Special Teams play was very inconsistent, except maybe on the punt coverage, where Bruton and Mike Anello (A Walk-On who is a gunner, oddly enough wears #45, the same number as Rudy) would run down field and TFL the punt returner for some yards.

Kicking: The kicking game was one of the more inconsistent parts of our special teams. Walker was doing fine until the Purdue game, and missed a PAT. After nailing a 48yd Field Goal against UCLA, his play at kicking field goals was inconsistent, and If I recall only made two field goals after that (One in OT against Navy, the other against Air Force). I think he will improve over next season, if not, expect Ryan Burkhart or Nate Whitaker to start kicking our PATs and FGs.

Punt Coverage: The bright spot on our special teams. After watching Bruton in punt coverage and on defense, I would have to say he was the fastest player on our teams (And I mean it on that one). Mike Anello was very quick, and a big surprise on special teams this season, I wonder what his 40-time is in fact.

Kickoff Coverage: Also inconsistent, and was a big problem, the kickoff itself would be fine and such, but our coverage was often poor in this area, and often time a pooched kick that landed in the oppenents 10 would be returned to the 50, or in our territory, I hope this area improves next season.

Kick/Punt Returns: Also inconsistent, Zbikowski sometimes would be given little to no room to return a punt, and would sometimes have to fair catch quite a few. I can see David Bruton as our punt returner next season (considering his speed and other factors), but there are other candidates. At kickoff returns, it was decent, but I was surprised to not see David Grimes as a kickoff returner (He did a good job with it in 2006), but the returnmen for next season will likely be the same, but Grimes could factor in.

With that, that is the end of the 2007 Season in Review. I might have a post about signing day, and some talk about the ND Basketball Game against Villanova tomorrow.

Back (and some new info and such)

2008-01-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well I was gone for a while for reasons I will not disclose, but anways:

ND is now 13-3 in Basketball right now with a 3-1 record in Conference, If the team gets better on playing on the road, and plays the way they did in the second half of the Cincy game, this could be avery dangerous team.

This is one of the best recruiting classes ND has had in a long time, most notably with Michael Floyd getting that 5th star on rivals.

How about Ryan Grant with that impressive game against the Seahawks? He is one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season.

Championship Predictions:

Green Bay Packers 28, New York Giants 24
San Deigo Chargers 31, New England Patriots 28

Well I'll try at some point to have a special teams review up.

BCS Championship Prediction

2008-01-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Ohio St. 27, LSU 24

I'll have up some ND Basketball posts and such later.

The Season in Review: Part VIII: The Secondary

2008-01-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Well after a break from posting I am back with the review of our secondary, I felt it was very improved unit from the previous two seasons, and I think it was largely do to Corwin Brown, our defensive coordinator, who was a DB coach for the New York Jets prior to coming to ND.

David Bruton: My favorite player in our secondary, and arguably the fastest player on the team heading into the next season. He had many very many plays, from the sacking of Taylor Bennett in the opening loss to Georgia Tech to picking off Pritchard that lead to the lateral-touchdown that would be called back in the Stanford game, he was all over the place. One key play he made was the blocked punt against USC, but after leaving the game, the team would seem to wear out, ND might not of won that game, but I bet the score would be lower for USC and ND would at least have a Touchdown.

Terrail Lambert: Known for the game winning interception against Michigan St. last season, he did well, but I felt he could improve on tackling. I see him coming back as a 5th year senior for 2008.

Darrin Walls: One of the most improved players on the team, he was tied for first with 9 pass breakups and scored Notre Dame's first touchdown on the season on an interception return against Penn St. I wasn't surprised to see him start this season, and I look forward to seeing him develop more next season.

Tom Zbikowski: I don't have to much to say about Tom, other than that he improved from last season, but had ups and downs throughout the season, he should do well at the NFL Combine next month and will likely be a day one pick in the NFL Draft.

Others: Raeshon McNeil looks impressive, will replace Terrail Lambert in the 2009 season most likely, Kyle McCarthy will likely nab the other safety spot with Tom Zbikowski graduating.

The secondary was an improved unit which has finished (So far) #4 in the country in pass defense.

Coming Soon:

Blue-Gold Game Depth Charts
Some Recruiting info.
Signing day
More Irish Basketball coverage
Special Teams Review
Possible NFL Playoffs talk
Irish in the NFL Draft.

Recap

2008-01-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

Well I took break during Christmas and New Years and am back with recap of things:

My bowl record is 12-17 (I didn't do to well, but I was at least right on Kansas Winning)

Omar Hunter, decommited, I'm guessing he got poached by Urban Meyer (Like with Justin Trattou in the 2007 class).

I heard that Kirk Herbstriet thinks we will win 6 games next season in Football, I think we could win a lot more with a scedule as easy as ours.

Notre Dame is now 11-2 in Men's Basketball, it was quite a good game, but here are the positives and negatives:

Positives:

Luke Harangody will be at the minimum 1st Team All-Big East, heck he could be Conference player of the year, he had a career game as the Irish extended the Home Game winning streak at the Joyce Center to 29. I'm looking forward to the game on Saturday against UConn. Rob Kurz is having a good season with a whopping 18 blocks so far this season and he had a good night, Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney were also very impressive.

Negatives:

Need to avoid turnovers and avoid foul trouble (it cost losing a couple games last season)

Also I need to mention:

ND could, do to injuries on top Big East teams such as Pitt and Syracuse may help ND with the conference record, and we could be Big East Champions. This is a defenitly a team I see going to the NCAA Tournament, and if seeded right, could go very far. However the team might the best next season when 4 starters return, it will interesting to see what happens with the team over the next 3 months, Go IRISH!

My review series will continue with a post on the secondary tomorrow (Special Teams should come this weekend)

The Season in Review: Part VII: Linebackers

2007-12-23T22:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it is time for an interesting postion, the linebackers.

Maurice Crum: After an impressive Jr. (Redshirt So. basically, since he is coming back next season) season, he was actually inconsistent from times, but I think it came from an injury that he had suffered on an interception return against UCLA. He seemed to play less after that point, and his tackle total slipped. Since he is coming back, I think it well help him out overral and with draft status.

Joe Brockington: A real surprise, he was one of the more underrated players on the team, and had quite some impressive stats and hit over the century mark in tackles. He was one of the most the most improved players on the team, I wonder where he will go in the draft next April.

Kerry Neal: Im just going to say this, im going to look forward to watch him over the next three seasons as he did quite well at his position, as he had the knack for finding the loose ball (recovered fumbles against UCLA and Air Force)

Brain Smith: I am also going to look forward to watch him over the next three seasons, he had his career moment (so far) when he returned that Matt Ryan pick for a TD, and I am still baffled how we had got an excessive celebration penality on that play.

John Ryan: Pegged as a starter heading into the season, by the mid-point of the season, he was losing playing time to true-frosh Kerry Neal, and eventually lost it. His size for this position was questionable and yet he posted semi-decent stats even in dimishing playing time.

Anthony Vernaglia: Similar situation to John Ryan, but size I don't think had mattered, he would move to the inside linebacker spot as Brain Smith would nab his spot. He could come back for a 5th year season, but with all of the linebackers coming in (I think that if i recall, 4 linebackers will sign), he may not come back.

Coming tomorrow: The Season in Review: Part VIII: The Secondary

Tidbits

2007-12-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

Well some tidbits from today.

Brady Quinn getting an opportunity to play is becoming closer as Derek Anderson was picked off four times (two of them by former Irish Free Safety Ndukwe)(He better be starting by now)

I am now 3-3 in Bowl picks as Boise St. lost 38-41 to East Carolina, a very interesting game, I thought it was going to go to overtime after taht amazing fumble return.

Thats it for now.

The Season in Review: Part VI: Defensive line.

2007-12-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

Well we have reached the defense now, and this means that there will be three more parts after this one (Linebackers, Secondary, and Special Teams).

The Defensive line was actually quite a strong point of the team and was very underrated this season (along with the secondary). Trevor Laws and Pat Kuntz (in 10 games prior to injuries forced him out for the season) combined for a whopping 14 pass breakups (Kuntz had 9, Laws 5). I thought had Kuntz not been injured early on in the Navy game and in the Air Force game, he would have finished with at least 13 pass breakups.

Trevor Laws: There is so much that could be said about Laws. MVP for the Irish....Underrated...one who never gave up.... I felt that Laws was the reason behind why our defensive line played so well, often times he and Kuntz would stop an inside run and it would only gain a yard or two at most. Laws was always making a play (most notable might have been the sack against Ben Olsen in the UCLA game). He might not be on an All-American list (but should), but he was amazing. He will probably do impressive in the NFL Combine which will lead to him being drafted in the first day.

Pat Kuntz: To some, he might have been undersized for his position. He made up for it by making key pass breakups and tackles. His injuries were unfortunate, but I see him doing even better next season, he could play defensive end as Ian Williams could move to the starting Nose Tackle position with (if he winds up signing) Omar Hunter at the #2 spot.

The other defensive end spot had changed very, very often on who had started. Three different players started at this position (Justin Brown, Dwight Stephenson Jr., and Derrell Hand), although Hand started one game, then vanished. Brown may likely come back for a 4th season and to help build depth in what looks to be a huge signing of defensive lineman in the 2008 class.

Ian Williams, after garnering more experience, looked quite well at the nose tackle position and may start there next season.

Coming tomorrow: The Season in Review: Part VII: Linebackers

Recap.

2007-12-22T22:03:00.000-08:00

Well I have moved to a 3-2 record in bowls, as all three teams I picked to win had won.

Notre Dame won in basketball (although MUCH closer than expected).

Bowl Update

2007-12-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

0-2 right now as Utah won last night with a key interception late in the game. Congrats to Florida Atlantic for winning first bowl game and in there first ever bowl game.

I think my bowl record will improve tomorrow, lets wait and see what happens with that.

The Season in Review: Part V: Offensive Line

2007-12-21T22:04:00.000-08:00

The final part for the offense, as I will move to the defense this weekend.

It is somewhat hard to review this position, largely since there isn't any real stats for it other than minutes. We didn't have a high yard-per-carry average this season, and I felt the offensive line play was very, very inconsistent. We gave up a record-high amount of sacks and this was the weakest point of the offense and the team. Many times we would have to have two or three tight ends in since our opponents would bring 8 or 9 guys in the box.

We had to have many different players start (at least 9 if I recall), and only a few would start all twelve games (I think they were Turko, Young, and Duncan). I think with the return of four starting lineman, and Center Dan Wenger looks decent at his position after taking over for an injured John Sullivan.

John Sullivan: John was one of the most experienced and top centers heading into this season, but did not perform to his expectations. I think it might have largely been because he had suffered an injury in the spring game and that had hurt his playing.

Mike Turkovich: Started all twelve games, was somewhat efficient at run blocking. Responsible for a very costly penalty against Boston College, had he not commited it, we might have won that game as the momentum was in our favor.

Eric Olsen: The position he started at was one where many started (Wenger, Carufel, and Olsen), and I'm not to sure on him, but may likely start next season. I actually think he could lose his job to Chris Stewart, who with his size would likely keep Jimmy very protected.

Sam Young: His playing slipped over last season, but did better at the Left Tackle position, I look for him to improve here.

Paul Duncan: Despite having the experience, I felt Duncan could have done better, and that the Left Tackle position was not a good choice for him to start at, he was responsible for many false start penalties against Penn St. Did better at Right Tackle, but often had Carlson or Yeatman lining up next to him to help block, likely will start next season and be better.

Coming this weekend: The Season in Review: Part VI: Defensive Line

Notre Dame vs. San Francisco

2007-12-21T21:58:00.000-08:00

Well, rather doin a full in-depth preview for this game, I im just going to have a few notes:

Notre Dame will pick up another home win
Luke Harangody is the most underrated player in the Big East, and I think he will make all-conference
When it comes to points, at least 4 players will have double figures

Prediction: Notre Dame 103, San Francisco 54

The Season in Review: Part IV: Wide Recievers

2007-12-20T11:54:00.001-08:00

Part IV is about our recievers from the previous season:

David Grimes: Projected to be our #1 reciever entering this season. He was a bit inconsistint at times, but that was likely do to the fact he was injured in the Purdue game and didn't start playing again until Air Force, which was when he really emerged as one of the top recievers. He first really impressed me last season, when he had made that amazing third-down touchdown catch against Navy. I do think entering next season he will the number one reciever on the depth chart. He had made many, many amazing catches this season, one of which was called back, even though everyone knew he had caught that touchdown pass from Jimmy in the game against Stanford. Though it may not happen, I would like to see him as a return-man as he was quite talented at it.

Duval Kamara: A real surprise this season, he was one of many true freshman who had playing time in the first game (Armando Allen, Golden Tate, and others) and he really emerged in the Purdue game where he, Evan, Golden Tate, Carlson, and Robby Parris led the comeback against Purdue (sadly lost that one though). He continued to impress me as the season went on and caught touchdowns against Navy and Duke games. I am looking forward to watching him over next three following seasons.

Robby Parris: Some had compared him to Jeff Samardzija heading into the season. He started making quite a few good plays early on against Georgia Tech and Penn St. His best game had to have been the game against Boston College where caught quite a few great passes and his first TD. He would of had two, had the second one not get called back on a holding call from Turko (I think had it not get called back, we would of won that game). His playing time had dropped from the Air Force game to the rest of the season, as Kamara, Grimes, and Carlson were the ones catching most of Jimmy's passes during those three games.

Golden Tate: Though he was sparingly used after the Purdue game, when it came to recieving. He made it count when he played, especially in the Purdue game where he caught a bunch of deep balls from Clausen and Sharpley. I think he has to be the fastest reciever we have at the moment. I look forward to how Golden develops as a reciever and it will be interesting to see how he does next season.

George West: Though he was starting for the first few games, he would eventually lose his spot to Kamara and Parris. He had made a few catches, but i think the reason behind him not being used as much might be do to his size. He did block well against Michigan St. and helped Hughes get a big gain that would lead to a TD on the following play.

D.J. Hord: Wasn't used to much, was likely because he was out for the previous season with an injury, he might be better next season, and might get used more, if i recall, he had tore his ACL. I am not sure if that is correct, I just know he was injured for the 2006 season.

It will be nice not losing these guys after this season, and will be a very experienced unit next season, and (assuming they sign the LOI) the incoming freshman will likely contibute as well.

Coming later today or tomorrow:

The Season in Review: Part V: Offensive Line (However I might not have to much to say on that subject)

The ND vs. USF (San Francisco) Basketball Game preview

Bowl Time

2007-12-19T22:16:00.000-08:00

Do to delays, the Wide Reciever Entry has been delayed until tomorrow.

Alright, well the bowl season will starting tomorrow, so I have decided to make my bowl game picks.

2007-08 Bowl Schedule

POINSETTIA BOWL
Utah (8-4) vs. Navy (8-4) Navy 31, Utah 28

NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Florida Atlantic (7-5) vs. Memphis (7-5) Memphis 41, FAU 33

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Southern Miss (7-5) Cincinnati 45, Sothern Miss. 14

NEW MEXICO BOWL
New Mexico (8-4) vs. Nevada (6-6) New Mexico 24, Nevada 20

LAS VEGAS BOWL
BYU (10-2) vs. UCLA (6-6) BYU 31, UCLA 20

HAWAII BOWL
East Carolina (7-5) vs. Boise State (10-2) Boise St. 42, East Carolina 28

MOTOR CITY BOWL
Central Michigan (8-5) vs. Purdue (7-5) Central Mich. 40, Purdue 38 (UPSET)

HOLIDAY BOWL
Arizona State (10-2) vs. Texas (9-3) Arizona St. 41, Texas 35 (OT)

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL
Boston College (10-3) vs. Michigan State (7-5) Mich. St. 20, Boston College 17 (UPSET)

TEXAS BOWL
TCU (7-5) vs. Houston (8-4) TCU 34, Houston 21

EMERALD BOWL
Maryland (6-6) vs. Oregon State (8-4) Oregon St. 23, Maryland 16

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL
UConn (9-3) vs. Wake Forest (8-4) UConn 17, Wake Forest 16

LIBERTY BOWL
Mississippi State (7-5) vs. UCF (10-3) Miss. St. 31, UCF 30

ALAMO BOWL
Penn State (8-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5) Penn St. 35, Texas A&M 14

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Colorado (6-6) vs. Alabama (6-6) Colorado 38, Alabama 34

ARMED FORCES BOWL
Cal (6-6) vs. Air Force (9-3) Air Force 45, California 21

SUN BOWL
USF (9-3) vs. Oregon (8-4) USF 33, Oregon 10

HUMANITARIAN BOWL
Fresno State (8-4) vs. Georgia Tech (7-5) Fresno St. 16, Georgia Tech 14

MUSIC CITY BOWL
Florida State (7-5) vs. Kentucky (7-5) Kentucky 48, FSU 20

INSIGHT BOWL
Indiana (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6) Indiana 45, Oklahoma St. 35

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL
Clemson (9-3) vs. Auburn (8-4) Clemson 21, Auburn 16

OUTBACK BOWL
Wisconsin (9-3) vs. Tennessee (9-4) Wisconsin 26, Tennesse 17

COTTON BOWL
Missouri (11-2) vs. Arkansas (8-4) Missouri 40, Arkansas 28

GATOR BOWL
Virginia (9-3) vs. Texas Tech (8-4) Texas Tech 28, Virginia 23

CAPITAL ONE
Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida (9-3) Florida 42, Michigan 21

ROSE BOWL
USC (10-2) vs. Illinois (9-3) Illinois 34, USC 28 (2OT)

SUGAR
Hawaii (12-0) vs. Georgia (10-2) Hawaii 48, Georgia 42 (OT)

FIESTA BOWL
West Virginia (10-2) vs. Oklahoma (11-2) Oklahoma 31, WVU 21 (I'd pick WVU, had they not lost Rich Rodriguez to Michigan)

ORANGE BOWL
Kansas (11-1) vs. Virginia Tech (11-2) Kansas 21, Virginia Tech 20

INTERNATIONAL BOWL
Rutgers (7-5) vs. Ball State (7-5) Ball St. 35, Rutgers 31

GMAC BOWL
Tulsa (9-4) vs. Bowling Green (8-4) Tulsa 56, Bowling Green 48 (3OT)

BCS TITLE GAME
Ohio State (11-1) vs. LSU (11-2) To Be posted Jan 7th.

The Season in Review: Part III: Fullbacks and Tight Ends

2007-12-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

Well, after some delay and such, here is part III, on fullbacks and tight ends.

Asaph Schwapp: Was our starting fullback throught the year. I wasn't impressed with him, do to the fact that he could not run with the ball, and his best moment was on recieving plays against BC. I don't see him starting next season, as there is a good chance his backup will replace him.

Luke Schmidt: Though sparingly used, I thought he made a few good plays, there isn't a whole lot I can really say about him, this is do to the lack of playing time. I do think he can catch, and that will be useful in the future.

John Carlson: The Offensive MVP of Notre Dame. Even though his stats had dropped in comparison to the previous season. He was still impressive and did not give up on a play. He still made quite a contribution on the offense, and made very many key plays in many of the games. The reason behind the stat drops were because Carlson was used for blocking more often, since opponents would bring in 8 or 9 guys in the box and ND would need more blockers up front.

Will Yeatman: The likely starter at Tight End next season, caught a few passes, but was used more for blocking rather than recieving, it will be interesting to see how he is used next season.

That is it for now, Wide Recievers to come tomorrow.

Delay

2007-12-18T16:56:00.000-08:00

Due to busyness and such, the fullbacks post will be either tonight or tomorrow, will also do a Tight Ends post. However the section will be real short as Carlson gets the bulk of coverage.

Also, i was half right on the Div. 1-AA Champ. Prediction, right on App. St. winning and the points (Won 49-21), off on Delaware's points. Oh Well.

Also id like to welcome Trevor Robinson as a new commit.

Things to come this week:

Fullbacks/Tight Ends (12/18 or 12/19)
Wide Recievers (12/19)
Offensive Line (12/19 or 12/20)
Notre Dame vs. San Francisco Basketball game Preview (game on 12/22, post will likely come 12/21).

The Season in Review: Part II: Running Backs

2007-12-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

Well, time to start Part II of the series.

Travis Thomas: I wasn't to sure of what to expect out of him, I thought he might be efficient seeing as how just about everytime he touched the ball, it was either a first down, touchdown, or a big play. After finishing in negative rushing yards against Georgia Tech, I thought another one of the backs might start. His most notable play after three games was the fake punt for a first down against Michigan. He redeemed himself by scoring our first offensive Touchdown, he would score four times more in the season, and was mainly used as our goal-line back.

James Aldridge: I was thinking he would be healthier this season and be able to run more and such. While he had a few good games, there were times we would lose him to injury, and even though he played in 10 games (if i recall), he still led the team in rushing. It was a shock to see him finish the season without a touchdown. His best games were against Michigan St and Navy.

Armando Allen: I really saw his speed when he scored that Touchdown against Air Force. While he wasn't the most used of backs, he made quite a few big plays, against Air Force, Duke, and some other good plays, I would like to see him on a reverse or something, similar to that play Ted Ginn had against us in the Fiesta Bowl.

Robert Hughes: My favorite of the backs, he has been doing really good, and I think heading into the offseason, he is the top running back. He isn't the fastest guy, but he CAN RUN! He had a pair of 40+ yard runs against Stanford and was second on the team in rushing Touchdowns. While he did fumble once, I think he might have the best hands when it comes to the backs. I can't wait to see him next season, as he could be the leading rusher and hopefully (I hope any of the 3 backs do this) have a thousand yards rushing.

Junior Jabbie: Considered the top blocking running back. Junior had quite a few good plays, especially on the screen passes. There were two plays in particular he could of taken it to the house. I was hoping he would score before the end of the season. There is a chance he could come back for the 5th season, but im not sure how many open spots there are with the new commit of Trevor Robinson. I would like to see him come back, he was a very versatile back. With that said I can't wait until they announce 5th year seniors (Maurice Crum has been confirmed to come back, I see at least 4 5th year seniors)(Crum, Lambert, J. Brown, and Jabbie).

I was going to incorporate Fullbacks, but that will be posted tomorrow or Monday depending on how things go.

The Season in Review: Part I: Quarterbacks

2007-12-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well this is the start of a series Im going to be doing to review the 2007 season of Notre Dame Football, the first part will be about Quarterbacks.

Jimmy Clausen: To put it real simple, Jimmy was thrown to the wolves to early, I thought starting him against Penn St. was far to early, and even though Evan would sometimes hold on the football too long, I thought he was more reliable. Jimmy Clausen of course would make mistakes when he threw sometimes, which would lead to interceptions and other miscues. Occasionally would he hold onto the ball a bit too long and resulted in many sacks, when he should of thrown it away. Around the second half of the season, Jimmy was benched in the second half of the Boston College Game, and did not play against USC. After leading ND to an 0-2 record as a Starter, Evan was not starting against Air Force. Who new sitting out two games would change a quarterback? Jimmy Clausen would go from (statwise): 81/141 for 618 yards, a TD and 5 INTs. When he was tabbed starter against Air Force he would go: 57/104 for 636 yards, 6 TD's and an INT. A big jump was what I thought, I think that Jimmy will be alot better next season.

Evan Sharpley: Evan, in my opinion, held onto the ball a little too often and meant many sacks. He was reliable, and after leading ND to its lone scoring drive against Georgia Tech, I thought he should start against PSU, but surprisingly did not. While he led Notre Dame with combacks against Purdue and BC, the team came up short in 19-33 loss (an INT sealed the deal for Purdue) to Purdue and a 27-14 loss to Boston College which was alot closer than it looks because of holding call against Turko resulted in a TD pass being called back, the so-called "excessive celebration" from Brain Smith's interception return gave BC good field position and scored, meant the loss. Had neither of those two things happened (Holding call and "excessive celebration), ND might of won that game. In the Navy game, his ability to hold onto the Football really cost ND the game when he had the ball stipped away and led to a Fumble recovery TD and being sacked on the 4th down play late in the game. Those mistakes led the game to OT, and we sadly lost in the 3rd OT. At this point I wasn't sold on Sharpley, and soon Clausen was tabbed the starter against Air Force, and Sharpley hasn't played a down since. His stats were: 77/140 for 736 yards, 5 TD's and 3 INT's.

This is it for now, coming tomorrow:

Part II: Runningbacks

More Season Awards

2007-12-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Well, im back this morning with the rest of the season awards and here they are:

Most Improved Player:

First Place: David Bruton

David Bruton was one of the most improved players this season, and was quite a surprise, he led the team in picks, and was all over the field and helped the Irish to a top 5 finish in Pass Defense. He was also impressive on punt coverage with Mike Anello as they would burst down field and Tackle the punt returner just as he got the ball and often tackle for loss the returner.

Second Place: Darrin Walls

It was not a surprise to see Darrin as the number two corner heading into the season, he really solidified his spot as a starting corner when he picked Anthony Morelli off and ran the interception seventy-three yards for a TD. He also was tied for first place in pass-breakups with nine as Pat Kuntz had 9 in 10 games untill he was injured. Darrin made alot of great plays.

Most Underrated:

First Place: Trevor Laws

There isn't enought that can't be said about him other thatn that he is the most underrated Irish Player since last year's Derek Landri (Who had 15.5 TFL (combined with sacks)(Was a DT)(That stat was #2 nationally among DL if i recall)(Blocked 4 kicks in the 2006 season)(Sadly taken in round 5 of the NFL Draft)

Second Place: Joe Brockington

Coming into the season, there was speculation that Joe Brockington and Toryan Smith would share time at the other ILB spot opposite of Crum. However, It didn't happen as Brockington would up finishing second on the team in tackles and had 8.5 tackles for loss.

Freshman of the Year:

First Place: Duval Kamara

Duval Kamara was first this season catching passes from Jimmy Clausen against GT. By the end of the season he hauled in thirty-two recepions for 357 yards, and 4 TDs, the most recieving TD's on the team. Im looking forward to watching him for the following three seasons.

Second Place: Kerry Neal and Brian Smith:

Kerry Neal helped seal the deal in the UCLA game and was starting at mid-season, was quite a surprise

Brian Smith returned a interception thrown by BC's Matt Ryan for a TD, also made quite a few contributions, and was starting at mid-season.

That is it for now.

A Prediction

2007-12-12T23:07:00.000-08:00

Im sure a lot of people don't know that this week is the Division 1-AA Championship, Im sure some might know that Appalachian State is in it, the team that upset Michigan in the Big House, they are playing Delaware, who upset Navy, who upset Notre Dame. I will be picking this game, do to the importance of it being a championship game and such

Appalachian State 49, Delaware 38

Things to Come

2007-12-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

Things I will be posting about soon:

Notre Dame Basketball (When the next game comes)
Bowl Projections (Before Bowl Season)
Those Awards
Notre Dame Football related-stuff.

Notre Dame Season Awards (In my opinion)

2007-12-12T22:36:00.000-08:00

Alright, here are my awards for the Notre Dame Football this season:

Player of the Year: Trevor Laws

Never have I seen one Notre Dame player do so much in a rough season, truly was an impressive player of the team, who had 112 tackles, 8 TFL, 4 Sacks, deflected many passes, and blocked 3 FG's. Though he isn't on any All-American lists sadly, he will definitly be taken on the first day of the NFL Draft

Offensive Player of the Year: John Carlson

Despite having lower reception, recieving yards, and TD totals, Carlson was one who didn't give up on a play. His stats are lower since he was used more in blocking situations since opponents brought in 8 or 9 guys in the box.

Defensive Player of the Year: Trevor Laws

Other Awards will come tomorrow.

The Beginning

2007-12-12T22:31:00.000-08:00

Well Irish Fans, this is my first post in Outside The Tunnel, a Notre Dame Blog.

The name of the blog itself derives from a name of a message board on rivals.com, which is called Outside The Tunnel.

I will be regularly posting Notre Dame Football and Basketball Regulary on this blog.

I hope that you will enjoy my posts about Notre Dame Sports.

GO IRISH

-IrishFan89