| 06 October 2009
I live in a small town- a very small town in northwest Ohio. I am surrounded by Suckeye, and Skunkbear fans. On Saturday, once Rudolph caught the fade pass from Clausen, you would have thought the entire town was full of Irish fans. The echo was epic.
Somehow I just knew, that everything was going to be OK. I wasn't worried about the 2 point attempt. I wasn't worried as Washington drove down the field. I'm telling ya- I believe in this team. I trust them. Considering how close these games are, maybe I shouldn't- but I do.
This is your hangover- better pop a few Advil first...
Taking the stand. What can I say about the defensive performance on the goaline from the Fighting Irish? Three goal line stand in one game- TWO IN A FUCKING ROW!!! I'm excited. The way every defensive player played balls out, was inspirational. You see, most people want to give all of the credit to the front 7/8 on these goaline plays- but the defensive backs played a huge part in this glory as well. Raeshon McNeil stepped up and had a big tackle, and Kyle McCarthy (who else) made a diving tackle to put Polk on the ground that no one else would have been able to do. This defense deserves not only our cheers and admiration, but the next time you see one of these guys face to face, just look at them dead in the eye and say "fuck yeah." They'll know exactly what you meant. Those moments were in a game that will now be legendary and included in the discussion of some of the greatest games in Notre Dame Stadium history. I don't care who the opponent was.
Getting stood up. Now that I gave praise to the defense, I can tear them down a bit. A little backwards, I know, but those goaline stands were amazing. What wasn't so amazing was the defense's play throughout most of the game. In particular, the broken tackles. I could not believe how many wanna-be tackles were nice hard hits- that were failures because the defender didn't wrap up, or were just bulldozed. Chris Polk had 22 carries for 136 yards with an eye-popping 6.2 yard average. I don't have the exact stat in front of me, but Polk had like 80 of those yards after first contact.
This is quite disturbing considering that our next two opponents, U$C & Boston College, love to run the football as well as future opponents like Navy, UConn, and Stanford. However, this is something that can be fixed. Tackle drills such as the Irish Eyes drill should be more frequent in practice. The Irish are getting to the spot to make the play, but have been lacking in the "finishing" department. If the Irish can fix this issue, their defense will be much, much better.
Straight Tate. Remember that moniker from a few years ago? I think Golden Tate has shed the image of the "one-route" player for good. One thing he didn't shed, was his playmaking ability. Think about this for a second... think about all of the great Irish playmakers on offense since 1987. It may take a moment as you are mentally counting guys like Rocket Ismail, Jerome Bettis, Reggie Brooks, etc. Now, know this: Golden Tate's 275 all-purpose yards against Washington were the most by an Irish player since Tim Brown in 1987. How amazing is that? Really. Tate had 244 yards receiving, the second most in Irish history, and 31 yards rushing that came on a reverse.
He has been the lightning in a bottle that Notre Dame has needed this year, especially after losing Michael Floyd to an injury. Weis will continue to come up with more and more ways for Tate to get his hands on the ball. Tate needs about 15-20 touches between receiving, rushing, and returning.
Jimmy Clausen 4 Heisman. Duh. There is no question that Jimmy Clausen is firmly in the top 3 when it comes to Heisman contenders. His stats say a lot, and considering that he is the #1 ranked passer in passing efficiency... his stats actually are screaming at us. His play is what is carrying this team to victory every week.
Against Washington, he threw 23-31 for a career high of 422 yards with 2 TD's and one INT. He did take a screen pass and turned it into a backwards pass that was returned for a TD by Washington, that really kept some momentum on a Husky team that was searching for some offense at that point. Even great ones make a few mistakes. Fortunately for us, Jimmy didn't make much more than that. He was brilliant. He never looked rattled and mounting drives that can win or lose us the ballgame has become his forte', with the former being his signature. There was a lot of talk, and a lot of hype about Clausen VS. Locker, but it was as clear as day who the best quarterback on the field was and he is probably the best in the country. Mr. Clausen.
One last thing about Jimmy. Today on College Football Live on ESPN, there was more Heisman talk. Trevor Maitish (spelling?) has Jimmy as his number one. John Saunders, the hockey player from Canada, doeas not. He likes Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy. Why? Jimmy is doing it against softer competition. Ahem... My friends at Her Loyal Sons pointed out the strength of schedules for those two teams as well as ND for who they have played thus far. You make the call:
- Notre Dame SOS (36)
- Texas SOS (90)
- Florida SOS (107)
On to the bulletpoints! As is tradition with the hangover- I gotta finish. Here are a few more thoughts from the Washington game:
- Gary Gray should see more playing time. he has looked like our most consistent cover corner, and is at least hip for hip with his guy.
- The young kids are starting to really produce. Manti Te'o, Shaq Evans, Kapron Lewis-Moore, and Nick Tausch had statement games on Saturday. The youth movement is continual, and the future looks bright. More is needed of them and more will be expected. I hope they're ready
- Speaking of Tausch, how good does it feel to really have confidence in your kicker. 5 FG's for the freshman in bad conditions, and he never looked rattled.
- Roughing the snapper. You have to love PAC-10 officiating.
- Robert Hughes got lost in the Tate performance, but he had 8 carries for 71 yards a TD in overtime, and the grittiest two point conversion run. He was a beast and is warming up at the right time of the year.
- Kyle Rudolph continues to make would be defenders look silly.
Alright. That's it. I am just going to close with this video I found of the last play. I think the Washington WR is OK now, so hopefully this doesn't offend too many people. Peace.
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