:: Notre Dame Football ::
Fighting Irish welcome dangerous Huskies
Banged-up Notre Dame readies for resurgent Washington ...
In Shakespeare's version, Julius Caesar says of Cassius, "He has that lean and hungry look ... such men are dangerous."
Admittedly not all the Washington Huskies are all that lean; for example, there's the 350-pound nose tackle. But from Head Coach Steve Sarkisian on down, the Huskies definitely do have that lean and hungry look ... and they are indeed dangerous.
After going 2-21 over their previous 23 games, this year the Huskies already are 2-2 — including a 16-13 last-minute win over then-top-5 Southern Cal. That victory resulted in Washington being nationally ranked for a week.
The Huskies then had a let-down on the road with a 34-14 loss at Stanford, a game where they nevertheless were still within two scores until mid-way through the fourth quarter, despite surrendering a score on the opening kick-off.
Washington coaches have Southern Cal experience, looking for big Husky turnaround, have Huskies staying in Michigan City
After years coaching at Southern Cal, including two as the Trojans' most recent offensive coordinator, Sarkisian brings with him a taste for championships, as does former Southern Cal defensive coordinator Nick Holt, who came with Sarkisian to coach Washington's defense.
Sarkisian has personified the Phoenix-like rise Washington would like to see emulated by their football program that, at one time, was national championship caliber, but in recent years has struggled to get any wins.Sarkisian himself went from being an apparently failed Southern Cal baseball player, to playing baseball and reviving his football career at El Camino Community College, only to then enroll at BYU and become an All-American and one of the top quarterbacks in BYU history under Norm Chow and LaVelle Edwards.
As a result of their stint at Southern Cal, both Washington coaches have experience going against Notre Dame, and experience in Notre Dame Stadium. They apparently have responded to that by having their Washington team stay 40 miles west of Notre Dame in a different time zone, in Michigan City.
Notre Dame looking to continue momentum
Notre Dame comes off a dynamic win over Purdue showing they have guts and competitive fire to go with their big-time talent. The question will be how Notre Dame continues developing, and how they work around the loss of All-American-caliber junior wide receiver Michael Floyd, as well as the continued recovery of All-American-caliber junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen from his toe injury, and junior top-15 running back Armando Allen's recovery from an ankle injury.
But Notre Dame, for the first time in nearly a decade-and-a-half, has a fully rebuilt program with top talent across four class years, plus some good fifth-year players, such as their leading tackler, safety Kyle McCarthy, who also has several interceptions.
The Irish are 3-1 in the record books, playing a tough set of opponents, playing top-15 football even if the opinion polls are slow to pick up on it.
Washington will pose a big challenge, but if Notre Dame gets over this hurdle, they get the bye week to heal up.
The Huskies actually have an interesting array of raw talent. Former Washington Head Coach Tyrone Willingham, at one time, tried bringing in almost two dozen junior college transfers, but then would bring in at least one fairly solid recruiting class. Sarkisian also brought in a pretty good class enrolling this year, and already has gotten some commitments for next year.
The biggest name on the Washington roster is junior quarterback Jake Locker, a Washington native considered a good passer with mobility and athleticism. Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis, when asked by Seattle media, indicated the NFL views Locker favorably, but could view him even more favorably after he finishes adjusting to a new system.
But a particularly curious aspect of Washington's play is their defense.
Notre Dame on Offense
Notre Dame has scored around 32 points per game, averaging a top-15 455 yards of offense per game, almost 300 yards passing (297) and 158 yards rushing per game. These numbers include working around injuries to some of the nation's top skilled position players, two of whom might be back in full force against Washington.
While Weis has praised Washington's third-down offense, converting roughly two-thirds of the time according to Weis, an equally interesting story at times has been the Huskies' third-down defense.
In Washington's upset win over Southern Cal, the Trojans came up on third down 10 times. Southern Cal converted ... zero. The Trojans also went for it on fourth down once, and failed to convert. That's right, against Washington, Southern Cal was 0 of 11 on third and (when they went for it) fourth down. On the other hand, Stanford converted 4 of 11 third down plays against the Huskies.
Overall, playing a pretty tough schedule against LSU, Idaho, Southern Cal and Stanford, Washington's defense has given up about the same amount of yards as Notre Dame's defense, 380 yards compared with 390 for the Irish.
Washington lists a 4-3 personnel grouping on their depth chart, and their leading tacklers are the three linebackers, senior Donald Butler, senior E.J. Savannah, and junior Mason Foster. The secondary is young, but fast, including two freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior among its four starters.
The Washington defensive line ranges from small to gigantic, and is more experienced, with two seniors, a junior, and a sophomore the size of a small car, but while the Husky passing defense has been competent, the rushing defense has been preyed upon a bit by Washington opponents.
Washington's rushing defense has been porous
Washington is giving up about 200 yards rushing, ranked a little worse than 100th in the FBS (Div. I-A). More shocking, however, is that the Huskies have been giving up 5.8 yards per carry.
Notre Dame has been averaging about 160 yards rushing, a solid 4.2 yards per carry. Look for the Irish to work towards increasing that against the Huskies.
Against Southern Cal, the Huskies gave up 250 yards on the ground, a whopping 7.6 yards per carry, although obviously the ground game did not prove potent enough for the Trojans, who only threw for 110 yards playing their backup quarterback, to pull out a win.
In a 34-14 loss to Stanford last week, it was worse for Washington, with the Huskies allowing 321 yards rushing, at 6.4 yards per carry. 103 yards passing by the Cardinal meant the Huskies gave up 424 yards total, well over their average. Meanwhile Notre Dame's defense headed in the opposite direction against Purdue, on the ground and overall.
Washington, which lists a 4-3 personnel grouping on its depth chart, has a 350-pound nose tackle, sophomore Alameda Ta'amu, but their other defensive tackle is around 270, and both their ends are around 260. Ta'amu actually only has one tackle in four games.
Washington passing defense competent
The Huskies have given up around 250 yards passing per game, actually in the top-40 nationally, but their pass efficiency defense is only ranked 76th, implying that they are not necessarily as stingy against the pass as the yardage might seem to indicate. Other teams apparently have electing to run more. Meanwhile, even with fighting around his injury, Jimmy Clausen is still in the top-10 nationally in passing efficiency.
Both the Washington corners are fast but young, one a freshman and the other a sophomore.
Notre Dame injuries
Other than admitting that Notre Dame sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd is out until the bowl game with his broken collarbone, Weis has played it somewhat close to the vest about injuries, and is not required to disclose injury-related information as he would be in the NFL.
Clausen looked gimpy and his game was off at times against Purdue, when Weis introduced Dayne Crist for much for the second quarter and second half, before calling upon Clausen to stage a late rally for the history books.
Weis claimed on Tuesday that Clausen and Allen were both ready right then, but time will tell how ready, how much, and for how long.
Previously with respect to Clausen, Weis had indicated only that Clausen's condition was improving, and that he would rest Clausen more after the Washington game, during the bye week.
Notre Dame depth and versatility
Crist looked solid, but junior flanker Golden Tate was electrified as a running back and Wildcat quarterback. And given the opportunity to get some carries, big halfback-turned-fullback Robert Hughes delivered big rumbling runs. In one carry, freshman speedster Theo Riddick showed tremendous flash, and sophomore halfback Jonas Gray was solid.
Especially intriguing is Tate in the backfield, who calls up memories of the days when the Notre Dame flanker lining up in the backfield was Rocket Ismail or Tim Brown.
If and when Allen comes back, Notre Dame looks poised to launch a kind of running back-by-committee power running attack not seen since Lou Holtz.
And it was Holtz himself who has praised the newly revitalized play of Notre Dame's athletic and mastodon-sized offensive line. New Running Game Coordinator Frank Verducci has the line playing tough and hard, paced by mammoth senior right tackle Sam Young.
Young has been playing with a prehistoric intensity at times, but equally of note would be what his actual size might turn out to be. Last year, Young was listed at 6-8, 330, but in person, on the field, actually did not even look all that stocky, more like an overly tall tight-end. This year, he looks a good deal heftier, but is listed at 6-8, 320. Do not be overly surprised if Young is actually more like an NFL-supersized 6-8, 360 or more.
And against Michigan, Young was more than comfortable playing without a helmet on one play, when after losing his hat he kept blocking and shoved the Michigan defender five or ten yards backwards.
(As an aside, this reminds the author of a conversation he once observed between his father, God Rest His Soul, and his nephew. The nephew asked his grandfather, "Grandpa, was it any different playing football without a facemask?" My Dad answered, "No." There was a pause, and then the nephew asked, "Grandpa, were football players a lot tougher in those days?" My Dad answered, "Yes.")
Back to the runners ... Tate's newly displayed versatility could produce some introducing results combined with the versatility of sophomore tight-end Kyle Rudolph. While Tate has shown outstanding flair as a wide receiver, running back, and Wildcat quarterback, Rudolph has shown All-America-caliber effectiveness as a combination blocking tight-end, receiving tight-end, and wide-out. Notre Dame, in five wide receiver sets, has been known to have Rudolph line up as a wide receiver, and Rudolph is a bona fide deep threat. Against Purdue of course, it was shorter pass needed at the end, and Rudolph grabbed a burner from Clausen for the game-winner.
Theoretically the Tate-Rudolph versatility means that, with Rudolph and Tate on the field at the same time, Notre Dame can multiply the variety of formations it can throw at the defense, even without making substitutes. The astute Irish fan might be intrigued to see what this would look like in a hurry-up, no-huddle offense, where Notre Dame could switch up formations without substitutions, when the defense does not have time to substitute at all.
For example, consider if Notre Dame fielded a two-tight-end personnel combination, with Rudolph as one of the tight ends, and also included two wide-receivers, with Tate as one, in addition to having, for example, Hughes in the backfield, who has shown he can play both halfback and fullback.
At one end of the spectrum, Notre Dame could dial up a 7-man line with one wide receiver, and a power-I or something similar in the backfield, with Hughes at fullback and Tate at tailback. Out of that formation, either of the latter could run it, or Notre Dame could throw, to the lone wide-out, to Rudolph from the tight-end spot, or one of the backs out of the backfield.
At the other end of the spectrum, with the same personnel, Notre Dame could send three wide-outs, with Tate, the second receiver, and Rudolph all lining up as wide-outs. The other tight-end (in this case actually the sole tight-end, since Rudolph would be a wide receiver) could be a fourth receiver; and Hughes could either block in the backfield or be a fifth receiver.
So with its new quality depth and diverse talent, by being forced to work around injuries, Notre Dame is getting more and more versatile on offense, and multiplying its options.
Starting with a combination like the one mentioned above, heavy but versatile, might make sens, since the conventional wisdom would be to hammer Washington on the ground.
After Stanford walloped the Huskies (admittedly most likely enhanced both by Washington coming off the Southern Cal game, and Stanford ripping off an opening kick-off return for a touchdown) Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh claimed it had been Stanford's strategy heading into the game not only to run it against Washington, but to power it off-tackle.
We might not be surprised, then, to see Notre Dame opening big and heavy, and powering it at the Huskies to see if Washington can stop it. But Notre Dame's versatility makes them even more potent, and going hurry-up might be very interesting for that reason.
At the same time, though, it also will be interesting to see whether Washington reacts to what happened on the ground against Stanford by trying to load up against the run against Notre Dame. The big unkown for them is how ready Clausen will be coming off his injury. Do not forget that a healthy Clausen is one of the best passing quarterbacks in college football.
And while the loss of one of the best receivers in college football Michael Floyd, is a big, Tate might actually be as good as Floyd, and Notre Dame's entire receiving corps from top to bottom is high-quality, including Robbie Parris, who had a key grab on the winning drive against Purdue, Duval Kamara, and others. Freshman Shaquelle Evans also has been getting his game-legs under him, and has intrigued Weis for his speed. And the running backs out of the backfield can be good on screen passes especially.
So a big question will be, does Washington try to load up against the run, does that work, and does Notre Dame need the run that badly, or will the Irish surprise everyone by Clausen returning to usual form earlier than expected. Chances are Notre Dame will run well, Clausen will play at least better overall than against Purdue, but Crist might see action as well.
Notre Dame on Defense
Notre Dame defensive line coach Randy Hart has nearly 40 years of coaching experience, half of them at the University of Washington. Hart's tenure saw the Huskies range from being national champions to going winless in 2008. Uncharacteristically, Hart did not survive the latest Washington coaching change like he did a number of others.
Weis has praised Hart for his immense knowledge and experience, as well as his immense energy.
Notre Dame is 4th in Div. I-A in red zone defense, but is giving up 390 yards per game overall, although Notre Dame has been strengthening its defense against the run. The Irish are also in the top-40 for interceptions, five thus far in four games, and are in the top-50 for scoring defense.
Washington averages about 360 yards of offense per game, around 250 passing, a top-40 effort, but only a little more than 100 yards per game rushing, somewhat anemic.
The Huskies are scoring around 24 points per game.
The Huskies have split their passing and running plays fairly evenly, so apparently there is not necessarily a question of simply favoring the pass.
Pacing the Huskies offense is quarterback Jake Locker, whom Charlie Weis has said the NFL is viewing favorably, but will view even more favorably after he completes the transition to Sarkisian's new offensive system. As Weis put it, Locker had to adjust from playing to being out injured, to coming back, to learning a new system.
While a lot of people are high on Locker, and rightly so, be aware that he is not necessarily a dual threat running quarterback.
Locker, for example, is not a running fullback who can be a decent passer, like Tim Tebow, and it does not appear that he is not a lean, fast running quarterback who could possibly become an NFL wide receiver and kick returner like Antwaan Randel-El, or be whatever is in store for Pat White. Locker appears to be a good, solid passing quarterback who also has decent speed and great athleticism, and can pick up positive net rushing yardage.
Overall, Locker has had 79 of 136 passing for 1002 yards thus far, around 250 yards per game, throwing 6 touchdowns against 3 interceptions. In passing efficiency he is 64th.
Rushing the ball, Locker has 33 carries on the year for 74 yards net rushing, including any sacks. Locker has two rushing touchdowns.
Nevertheless, within Washington's low-yielding running game, Locker is the Huskies' second-leading rusher, averaging around 18 yards per game, and 2.2 yards per carry. Washington's leading rusher is Polk, who averages around 79 yards per game, 3.8 yards per carry, a redshirt freshman due to an injury redshirt.
The Notre Dame defense, on average, has been giving up 260 yards passing, 106th in Div. I-A, and 130 yards rushing, ranked 57th. Overall the defense is ranked 94th statistically, giving up a similar amount of yardage as Washington.
But these figures relate to statistic averages, not true rankings, and Notre Dame has a played a tougher schedule than many early on, tight games no less. The defense seems to be progressing in the right direction, giving up fewer yards against Purdue, and clamping down especially on the Purdue running game.
Interestingly, the Irish seemed to blitz less last week against Purdue. In previous games, when Notre Dame got gouged for some runs up the middle, it had not appeared that Notre Dame was outmuscled, or in any way out-manned, but rather was out of position, perhaps over-anticipating something different coming from the offense.
A lot of Notre Dame's tackles have come from its safeties, with some also coming from linebackers, and some increased production from the defensive line.
Fifth-year senior Kyle McCarthy leads all tacklers, in the top-40 nationally, around nine per game, and is in the top-10 for interceptions, averaging nearly one per game. Sophomore linebacker Darius Fleming is in the top-20 nationally for tackles-for-loss, averaging nearly two per game.
Weis has commented that top freshman recruit Manti T'eo has been earning trust from the defensive staff and will be playing more. T'eo got a sack against Purdue.
This year, Notre Dame has switched from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3. However, the right-defensive end two-deep consists of two linebackers, both around 250 pounds.
Generally speaking, a 3-4 has a nose-tackle and two defensive ends, with four linebackers. A 4-3 generally will have two defensive tackles and two defensive ends on the line, with three linebackers.
Now, as Weis has pointed out, these are personnel groupings, and not necessarily the formation on a given play. Also note that the numbers of defensive back packages vary, which impact other things, and that at times a team might field five, six, or even seven defensive backs as the situation warrants.
When Notre Dame ran a 3-4, they generally seemed to have a big nose tackle, two defensive ends, and four linebackers, but the linebackers were a mix of bigger and smaller linebackers, including a safety playing in a linebacker position who, this year, has switched to safety.
This year, with their 4-3, Notre Dame is playing a line that features a nose tackle, a smaller defensive tackle, a left-defensive end, and a right-defensive end who is actually a linebacker lining up as a down-lineman.
So Notre Dame is essentially playing four big linebackers, one as a down-lineman, a big tackle, a smaller tackle, and a defensive end.
The four linebackers, instead of being in the linebacker position with flexibility of movement, and of different sizes, are all big, and one is constrained by being a down-lineman.
At the same time, the line is not necessarily that big, because one of the linemen is actually a linebacker, and the other linemen, save one, are not necessarily that huge. So query whether one potential trade-off of going from a 3-4 to a 4-3, giving up some mobility and flexibility in favor of a bigger stronger line, might not be occurring as well as it might have.
Be that as it may, Notre Dame has been strongest statistically against Washington's weakness, the running game, and not as strong statistically against Washington's comparative strength, the passing game.
On the other hand, Notre Dame's passing defense is probably a good deal stronger than appears on paper, and Notre Dame does have a lot of speed and athleticism in its secondary. Especially if Notre Dame can focus more on stopping the pass, given Washington's more limited running game, the Washington match-up might see the Irish turning in some better numbers all across the board as they continue building.
And, as mentioned above, confirming that Notre Dame does not get out-muscled, one area where the defense is very strong is in the red zone.
Expect the possibility that Notre Dame might start blitzing more again, to pressure Locker, and focus more on the pass otherwise. This situation might result in Locker taking off for more runs, which could test the toughness of the 6-3, 226-pound junior as he takes more hits.
Special Teams
Washington gave up a kick-off for a touchdown to Stanford, and Notre Dame's kick-return team has been looking to break loose. Barry Gallup has had some nice runs, and freshman Riddick, who Weis has said is the fastest player on the team, looks like he would like to break one even longer than he's already broken them.
At some point, if Tate wants to be the next Rocket, in addition to being a flash flanker-running back, he's going to have to been an unconscious punt returner. But at least he seems dependable, and makes good judgments about what to catch and how.
Notre Dame will be trying out true freshman Ben Turk at punter, a tremendous athlete already known to have a stronger leg than his predecessor. The key will be overcoming game-day nerves, and it is good that he is getting out there in front of a home crowd.
While directional punting will be interesting to watch, the key will be if Notre Dame is able to avoid some of the surprises it got in recent games, when there were some punts that appeared to possibly get mis-hit and came up very short.
The freshman placekicker, while missing a few kicks earlier, has proved fairly solid and reliable, and is burying some good strong kicks on place-kicks. Kick-offs are going somewhat long, but not into the end-zone, and are competent and strong overall. Other than the lapse against Michigan, kick coverage appears sound.
Additional thoughts
Washington has a fair assortment of good talent, who are hungry for more wins, and will be playing the game of their life against Notre Dame. The Notre Dame game probably is on a par with the Southern Cal game in terms of being a special game in the eyes of the Washington coaches and players, and an opportunity to play on true national television, in front of 80,000-plus people in one of the most historic venues in sports.
Notre Dame will have a dynamic game on its hands, will have to play hard to pull it out, and harder still to win decisively. Playing a good, hungry, resurgent Washington team after they lost to Stanford is going to be a lot harder than it was for Stanford playing them after the Huskies beat Southern Cal.
Another twist, however, for the Huskies' rookie head coach, is that both the Stanford game and the Notre Dame game are road games for Washington, while they upset Southern Cal in Seattle.
In the end, Notre Dame's power running game could be difficult for Washington to handle, and Notre Dame's defense is a lot better than the statistics indicate. And if the defense plays with intensity, they could solve a Washington offense that does not appear to be that multifaceted yet.
Expect a great game, which will feature multiple-touchdown leads for Notre Dame unless they look very strong doing it. But if Clausen and Allen are healthy, it might be off-to-the-races.
Weis preview
In his Tuesday press conference, Weis had high praise for Sarkisian, Holt, and Locker:
COACH WEIS: ... Coach Sarkisian and Coach Holt came up in USC and really have changed the mentality of Washington in a hurry. They brought Doug Nussmeier in to coordinate the offense and then quarterback coach, and up you can see the signs that this offense is getting better in a hurry. Their average is 24 points a game, running for 108 and throwing for another 250. Very good on third down and converting; just about 60 percent on third down.
I think part of the turn around offensively is obviously Locker being back. He's a frontline quarterback. He can make the tough throws. All have to do is see the last drive of the USC game and you know that the kid's a playmaker.
You know, we saw Fouch last year. He played against us. You know, if anything happened, we'd obviously see him. But, you know, Locker is obviously the leader of their offense.* * * *
Q. Finally, you mentioned kind of the similarities with USC and what Sarkisian has done at the University of Washington. Do you see any areas where maybe he's sort of broken away from the USC mold and kind of put his own stamp on things?
COACH WEIS: First of all, I think Steve is a very, very good coach, and I think he is going to have his own personality. He is not going there to are USC North. There are things that they did, you know, he is running their offense and Nick is running the defense, that they had great success with so why would you change that? I mean, you take the things that you had great success with, and then you apply it to the players you currently have, and they'll definitely branch off like everyone else does. And I think that, you know, there's a bright future there.
Links and Resources
:: Notre Dame vs. Washington game notes (short, html)
:: Notre Dame vs. Washington game notes (longer, more interesting, PDF)
:: Game Week On Campus - Notre Dame vs. Washington
:: Notre Dame Football official site
:: Notre Dame depth chart (PDF)
:: Notre Dame statistical team rankings, NCAA database
:: Washington Football official site
:: Washington statistical team rankings, NCAA database
:: VIDEO: click here for Charlie Weis Oct. 1 press conference
:: VIDEO: click here for Charlie Weis Sept. 29 press conference previewing Washington
:: TRANSCRIPT: Notre Dame Captains' press conference, Washington game preview
[please note: links open in new window, and video links require the MS Silverlight viewer, a free download, and also require free registration at und.com]
Keywords: Notre Dame Football, Fighting Irish, Jimmy Clausen, Dayne Crist, Charlie Weis, Kyle Rudolph, Golden Tate, Robert Hughes, Armando Allen, Duval Kamara, Robbier Parris, Shaquelle Evans, Washington Football, Steve Sarkisian, Jake Locker, College Football, Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Cassius
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