:: Notre Dame Football ::
Notre Dame Fighting Irish, with a lot to play for, ready for dangerous Connecticut Huskies
Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, Indiana ~ Nov. 21, 2:30 PM ET - (NBC)
At 6-4, with huge games left against Connecticut and Stanford, Notre Dame has a lot to play for — including a possible Jan. 1 Gator Bowl bid — when the dangerous Connecticut Huskies come to Notre Dame Stadium. It is the first-ever contest between the two schools in football.
Notre Dame brings one of the nation's top-10 offenses, top-5 through the air, against a Connecticut defense that has been competent and moderately-ranked on the year, but nevertheless gave up 711 yards to Cincinnati last week in a 47-45 shoot-out. That total included nearly 500 passing yards. Meanwhile, the Notre Dame defense gave up more than 400 yards against Pitt, a team Connecticut hung close with at mid-season.
While trying to solve the riddle of why Notre Dame often looks ready to win a championship in the fourth quarter, but does not excel uniformly earlier on, look for Notre Dame to possibly come out slinging it, early, often, and long downfield. This strategy arguably would contrast with a usual custom of attempting to sustain a more normally balanced pro-set offense from the beginning.
Connecticut overcoming tragic loss of cornerback Jasper Howard
Connecticut has had to overcome the tragic loss of cornerback Jasper Howard, who was killed on campus by a knife-wielding attacker. As can be expected, the loss of Howard has impacted his teammates on an untold personal level, including teammates who tried to help Howard when he was dying. Young Mr. Howard, requiem in pacem.
Connecticut close games
Like Notre Dame, the Huskies have had an incredible string of close games, but at 4-5 have not pulled out as many wins as Notre Dame.
Connecticut's five losses have been by 2 to 4 points each, against very strong opponents — North Carolina, Pitt, West Virginia, Rutgers, and last week's 47-45 loss to national title contender Cincinnati.
First-time opponent Connecticut was part of Big East reconfiguration
Notre Dame is playing Connecticut for the first time.
UConn made the leap to Div. I-A during a transitional 2000-2002 time-frame, and entered the Big East football conference in 2004, speeding up their entry after the ACC raided the Big East for Virginia Tech, Miami of Florida and Boston College. (The reconfiguration also included Temple leaving the Big East; Cincinnati, South Florida, and Louisville joining the football conference; and the formation of a 16-team basketball super-conference.)
Skip Holtz coached Connecticut from 1994-1998, getting them geared up for the later jump to Div. I-A, but it has been Randy Edsall with his hand at the helm for 11 years, from 1998 to the present. As a result, if Skip Holtz was the grandfather of Huskies football, Edsall is its founding father in the FBS/Div. I-A.
Overall, Connecticut has grown fairly rapidly into a good, solid top-40 team not unlike Pitt, but has not turned the corner like Pitt into a top-15 contender. This year's Connecticut team definitely is good enough to beat Notre Dame, requiring the Irish to bring their best game, and probably good enough that the Huskies easily might have been above .500 and bowl eligible at this point rather than just below it.
Notre Dame on offense
The Connecticut defense gave up more than 700 yards offense to Cincinnati in a barn-burner, nearly 500 through the air, so Notre Dame should be able to move the ball. However, this might prove a temptation to mount a steady, balanced attack rather than light it up early, which is what Notre Dame needs to do to shake off the doldrums of slow starts requiring late rallies.
The Irish need to get in the habit of building all-day momentum (also leaving a buffer against the strange year college football has been seeing with uneven officiating).
The Irish passing game is among the top-5 in the nation, led by Jimmy Clausen and top wide-receiver tandem Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.
Heading into the UConn game, Clausen is one of only four quarterbacks in major college football to surpass 3000 yards on the season, and the only one in that group on an upper-tier BCS team.
Golden Tate all-purpose threat with 14 touchdowns
Tate is turning into a Rocket Ismail-like all-purpose threat.
Already an incredible wide receiver with his speed, moves, strong running, great hands, and aerobatic leaping, Tate has periodically been a strong flanker running back and Wildcat quarterback. And then against Pitt, Tate finally exploded as a punt returner, taking an 87-yard punt return to the house in the middle of a furious Irish rally.
As a receiver, Tate is a Biletnikoff semifinalist, and as an overall player he is a Heisman candidate, Walter Camp semifinalist, and Maxwell semifinalist.
Tate's production through 10 games:
:: 74 catches, 1172 yards (117 per game, 16 per catch), 11 touchdowns
:: 23 rushes, 159 yards (6.9 per carry), 2 touchdowns
:: 9 punt returns, 148 yards, 1 touchdown
:: 3 kick-off returns, 62 yards, 1 touchdown
:: 1541 all-purpose yards (154.1 per game, 14.1 per play), 14 touchdowns
For total production, Tate is ranked just ahead of Alabama's Heisman candidate, who has 152.2 yards per game, averaging 7.0 yards per play. The Crimson Tide's running back has needed twice as many plays to come in just behind Tate in yardage production.
Jimmy Clausen with 21 touchdowns to 4 interceptions
Clausen is the rightful Heisman front-runner, recalling that the Heisman is (1) an individual award, not a team award (2) that is a single-season honor. Clausen is one of only four FBS/Div. I-A quarterbacks with more than 3000 passing yards in 10 games, the only one from the BCS upper tier (i.e., the group that includes Notre Dame and what used to be called "BCS conferences").
Video highlights of the Pitt game posted by und.com, including about ten looks at the final Clausen incompletion deemed a fumble by the Big East booth officials, reveal that there literally is zero possibility that Clausen's final play was a fumble. At least two angles show definitively that Clausen was whipping the ball forward out of his hand, and all angles show the ball having a smooth, straight, forward trajectory, possibly even with a slight spiral. So faulting Clausen for fumbling is not realistic, regardless of what the stat books show as official stats. In reality, Clausen was staging what could have been another game-winning drive and the game was never allowed to play itself out, because of what indisputable video evidence shows to have been a completely mistaken overriding of what had been a correct call on the field.
Clausen's production through 10 games:
:: 236 of 350 passing, 67.4%
:: 3053 yards, 305.3 per game
:: 21 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, 22 total touchdowns
:: 4 interceptions
:: only BCS upper-tier quarterback throwing for more than 3000 yards thus far
:: one of only four quarterbacks throwing for more than 3000 yards in combined FBS/Div. I-A
Michael Floyd
Floyd was the country's best receiver before being knocked out of the third game against Michigan State with a broken collarbone, and now is matching Tate for receiving production since returning in the ninth game against Navy.
Tate's production across 5 games (including partial game against Michigan State):
:: 30 catches, 606 yards (121.2 per game, 20.2 per catch), 6 touchdowns (1.2 touchdowns per game)
Kyle Rudolph out, Mike Ragone worthy replacement
Sophomore tight-end Kyle Rudolph, the only sophomore on the Mackey Award finalist list, was said to be out for at least the regular season, although there has been mention that he might be back for Stanford. Mike Ragone, who was set to be the starter last year before getting injured, is starting.
It has yet to be seen if Ragone, who has great tight-end speed, size, and hands, will step up to match Rudolph's production. Ragone might not have as much deep-threat speed as Rudolph, given that Rudolph not only lines up as a wide-out at times, but actually might have the speed and hands to play wide receiver even with his 260-pound frame.
Wide-outs et al.
Rounding out the best wide receiver corps in college football, are the steady, NFL-caliber Duval Kamara and Robby Parris, as well as the younger John Goodman, potentially Tate-like Theo Riddick, and Shaquelle Evans.
Whither the Notre Dame running game?
Notre Dame's rushing attack was getting a lot stronger this year behind a mammoth, veteran offensive line and growing stable of running backs. But against Pitt, admittedly with the team falling behind in the score and needing to throw, the running game was merely competent, with Armando Allen nevertheless averaging over 5 yards per carry in a sub-100 yard effort.
On the year, Notre Dame has fallen to an average of 130.9 rushing yards per game, 3.8 per carry, #84 in FBS/Div. I-A. But against top-10 Pitt they only netted 66 yards, at 2.64 yards per carry. Allen had 77 yards at 5.5 yards per carry.
Against UConn, Notre Dame really needs to light it up early, to turn the tide on the pattern of needing late rallies (and try to leave a buffer margin as insurance against the murky officiating plaguing college football this year).
Unless Notre Dame thinks it can manage a Lou Holtz-type pace with the running game, they probably need to treat the early parts of the game like a fourth-quarter rally, and sprinkle in running plays designed to gash for big yardage, not simply grind it out. Then, if Notre Dame can build a lead, maybe the grinding running game can answer the call.
It will be senior day, so if Notre Dame can build enough of a lead to let all the seniors play, that would be great, but this Connecticut team has taken some great opponents to the wire, and Notre Dame will have to bring their best game simply to pull out a key seventh win.
Former Notre Dame reserve quarterback Zach Frazer starting for UConn
UConn comes to Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday led by former Notre Dame reserve quarterback Zach Frazer, who transferred to Connecticut after being with the Irish program for his freshman year, including spring ball. Frazer did not play his freshman year, but was part of the four-way competition for the quarterback slot in the spring with then-injured Jimmy Clausen, Evan Sharpley, and Demetrius Jones. When Frazer fell out of the running to be starter, he elected to transfer, leaving on congenial terms, eventually deciding on Connecticut.
(Jones, after starting in a loss against Georgia Tech the next fall, also would transfer, and now plays defensive back for Cincinnati. Ironically, Frazer and Jones might have been the reason that Southern Cal back-up quarterback Mitch Mustain is not on the Notre Dame roster. After Frazer appeared to be the best drop-back passer in their recruiting class as a junior, Mustain emerged down in Arkansas with huge numbers as a senior. At the twelfth hour, Mustain decommitted from Arkansas to look at Notre Dame, but Notre Dame soon decided it needed to do right by Frazer and Jones and pulled out of looking at Mustain. Mustain would go to Arkansas, then transfer, ending up at Southern Cal, while Notre Dame would end up seeing both Frazer and Jones leaving to make way when it became apparent that young Jimmy Clausen would be the Irish starting quarterback of the future).
Frazer, an academic senior listed as a junior, sat out a year as a transfer, saw action last year, and has been competent in and out of the action this season. On the year, playing in 4 games, Frazer has gone 62 of 121 (51%) for 815 yards, 4 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Against Cincinnati, however, Frazer was a good deal better than his averages, going 19 of 32 (59%) for 261 yards and 1 touchdown with no interceptions.
Weis has stated that he is glad to see Frazer playing, although naturally hopes Notre Dame will be victorious against Frazer on Saturday.
Notre Dame on defense
The evolving Irish defense had been getting stronger overall, especially with production from the defensive line and linebacker corps, until failing to solve the Navy triple-option, giving up more than 300 yards on the ground to the Midshipmen including nearly 150 yards to fullback, and then giving up 400 yards to Pitt that included a series of roughly a half-dozen big plays. The gashes from Pitt included a 50-yard run in the fourth quarter that ended up keeping Pitt ahead and made up a third of the Pitt lead running back's yardage total.
Playing a tough schedule, Notre Dame presently has the #83 defense in FBS/Div. I-A, #72 against the run and #85 against the pass.
Against Connecticut, the Irish will be taking on a team that hung 45 points on a top-5 opponent ranked in the top-15 for scoring defense, with Connecticut rolling up 467 yards of offense.
Frazer had decent passing yardage, 261 yards and threw to seven different receivers, five of whom had double-digit yardage.
But on the ground, the Huskies added 201 yards, with Jordan Todman running for 162 yards at 6.2 yards per carry.
The Notre Dame defense will have its work cut out for it against that kind of offensive juggernaut, and will have to decide quickly if it can turn the corner and get back on track. Like the offense, the Irish defense will have to play like the game is on the line from the opening kick-off and not wait to be ferocious in the clutch. "The Clutch" will have to be all day against a team like Connecticut.
While Charlie Weis has rebuilt the foundations of the Notre Dame program, with a fully rebuilt roster across four class years for the first team in nearly a decade-and-a-half, some sources have begun looking more closely and question whether that has been entirely true on defense, or whether the high quality defensive players are still more on the young side.
Either way, the Connecticut team will pose a tremendous challenge and opportunity for Notre Dame's big-time talent, young and old, to continue developing their game. The multi-faceted Husky attack will require a total team effort.
Especially interesting will be the game plan, and whether the Irish can stop the bleeding with the big plays.
Special Teams
Notre Dame and Connecticut each took a punt return to the house last week, so punts could be a source of game-changing drama.
Ironically, Notre Dame's continued effort to stabilize the punter role might work in their favor if shorter punts prevent a big return. Eric Maust had a low-yardage output against Pitt, with his main competition Ben Turk, himself up and down on the year, recovering from the flu.
Groza Award nominee, placekicker Nick Tausch, was injured and unable to go against Pitt, but apparently should be back in the swing of things. David Ruffer kicked well against Pitt connecting on a field goal, but had a PAT blocked.
One interesting question will be whether Tate will complete his transition to Rocket Ismail-like all-purpose dynamo by being used more as a kick-off returner, in addition to his punt returns.
By comparison, when Ismail made his run at the Heisman, he would always find ways to be explosive and change games, but it would vary from game to game. Sometimes he had huge receiving games, sometimes big rushing games, sometimes big punt or kick-off returns.
With Tate, it appears he always will have big receiving games. It will be interesting to see if he continues exploding as a special teams return specialist, and if his rushing electrifies on a sustained basis.
Charlie Weis job status
One of the more bizarre developments with Notre Dame football heading into the game is an apparent decision to provide some grist to previously unsubstantiated media hype about whether Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis would be asked to leave years before the set completion date for his contract.
Whether acting unilaterally or otherwise, the most visible actor in the decision to give life to the "story" was the senior administrator within Notre Dame's athletic department, Athletic Director and Indianapolis lawyer John B. "Jack" Swarbrick.
Unless Weis or someone within the university hierarchy spoke to the matter, there would have been no basis for media "reporting" on the notion of Weis leaving. The loss to Navy, or Notre Dame's strong but less-than-BCS-eligible record would not have served as a justification for would-be articles on the matter. At best, the media would have been editorializing that, in the opinion of commentators, the commentators might want to see Weis let go.
But Swarbrick, according to ESPN, has indicated he already is evaluating the football program and will make an announcement about Weis's future no earlier than after the conclusion of the regular season. Last year Swarbrick tried to create the same impression, although doing so was cast within the guise of reassuring recruits, and seemed to exaggerate Swarbrick's decisionmaking authority.
In this case, Swarbrick is indicating that he and the chief administrator for the university as a whole, university president Father John Jenkins, would hold decisionmaking authority, apparently to the exclusion of their superiors, such as the Board of Trustees or core leadership that includes other leaders from the Holy Cross Order besides Father Jenkins. This type of scenario arguably might represent a shift from past policy, and an increase in the role of the athletic director.
Historically, former Vice President Father Edmund Joyce had played a strong role under Father Theodore Hesburgh, although for the Lou Holtz hire, reportedly veteran Athletic Director Gene Corrigan played a stronger role. Ad it would difficult to imagine long-time Athletic Director Edward "Moose" Krause, who played football for Knute Rockne and was experienced in coaching football, not weighing in with wise counsel.
When Tyrone Willingham was let go, three years into his tenure but a full eight years into the Davie-Willingham collapse that Willingham failed to rectify, reportedly there was joint decisionmaking involving two university presidents, a provost, the Board of Trustees, and an athletic director of longstanding experience dealing with major college athletics in multiple regions of the country.
To be fair, Swarbrick probably is required to evaluate all programs on a regular basis. And according to ESPN, Swarbrick has said the process is more an art than science, and takes into account two areas in which Weis is very strong, recruiting and academics, on a seemingly equal footing with overall team performance. It also sounds as if an overview of team performance will be just that, looking at overall results an not isolated games.
But at the same time, as described by ESPN, Swarbrick has indicated there will be some kind of announcement after the regular season, implying that Weis might or might not be kept on. Swarbrick apparently pointed out that, last season, such an announcement came a week after the final regular season game.
At the very least, it sounds as if Swarbrick is describing a rational, organized process, with a time-frame pushed back several week, that promises to short-circuit the self-anointed internet-age media circus. At the same time, the decision to lend credibility to the media circus lends suprising credibility to what otherwise would have been baseless speculation. Time will tell whether deliberately lighting a fire under Weis was the right thing to do. Last year, allowing the media frenzy to proceed apace rather than snuff it out until after the regular season arguably might have contributed to the November skid.
If Swarbrick's intention was to broaden his own portfolio and motivate the tireless Weis to work harder, instead he may have created a climate of malaise and given credence to a self-focused media that did not need any encouragement to exaggerate their relevance.
Notre Dame bowl eligibility
While some news sources claim that contracts for one or more bowls would allow a 6-6 Notre Dame team to be selected over a Big East team, that notion is not consistent with NCAA materials setting out postseason guidelines. While it is not clear that the Big East would use up its full slate of bowls with 7-win teams, as was the case last year, Notre Dame would do well to secure a 7th win.
However, if the Gator Bowl did not select Notre Dame, that does not mean a Big East team necessarily would go, since the Gator Bowl could also select a Big 12 team.
Conclusion
Look for offensive fireworks with Connecticut, and Notre Dame will have to strike early and often. This could be a signature day for Weis, Clausen, Tate, Floyd, and the rest of the Irish scoring machine, and the Irish defense will have to have its own emergence, playing as if every down is a clutch down, to show the high-powered potential it truly has and turn this into the memorable Irish win it can be.
With a BCS bowl bid on the line, Notre Dame came up short, but the Irish should step up and bring it home with the Gator Bowl nearing their grasp. Notre Dame's first trip to the Gator Bowl in 1976 was a win over Penn State that set the stage for a national championship in 1977, Dan Devine's third season. This year's possibility of a trip to Jacksonville is an exciting prospect to big to pass up for a Irish program on the upswing.
Regardless of the two BCS bowl trips his first two years, given that Charlie Weis had to undertake the biggest rebuilding job in a century, it is almost as if next year will really be his proverbial third year. A Gator Bowl win would be a great way to set the stage for Notre Dame Football turning the corner and reasserting its traditional standards that are its heritage.
Notre Dame vs. Connecticut resource links
:: Irish Prepare to Host Huskies: Notre Dame takes on Connecticut Saturday, November 21, at 2:42 p.m. ET., Notre Dame Football news release with resource links
:: Notre Dame vs. Connecticut game notes (PDF)
:: Notre Dame statistical summary, NCAA database
:: 1Notre Dame depth chart (PDF)
:: Notre Dame Football official site
:: Connecticut statistical summary, NCAA database
:: Connecticut depth chart for Notre Dame (PDF)
:: Connecticut Football official site
Keywords: Notre Dame Football, Charlie Weis, Golden Tate, Jimmy Clausen, Michael Floyd, Connecticut Football, Zach Frazer, Armando Allen, Nick Tausch, Kyle Rudolph, Gator Bowl
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