Notre Dame 35, Purwho 21

By Sir John

This is the day we all take stock of yesterdays game. That's after checking the other boards to see what's going on with other posters then hitting Google and Yahoo, It's a glut of information that's overwhelming. ND Nation had 43 news items alone although some are duplicates.

As I do this article it's almost noon and soon Moses will come down from the Mount and give us the 10 commandments in his Presser. A written transcript Presser should be out after 5PM.

Somehow, you have to take what YOU saw in the game played, all the various other opinions from places or people mentioned above then the official word and arrive at your own conclusions after analysis.

First of all I missed all of the first quarter and into 3 minutes of the second so missed some due to a situation my oldest daughter is in. As well, in what I did see later was distracted by same. All this while watching the game, glancing at the roster of players on my computer and juggling a quick game day post here.

It's one of those situations where "You never bother Daddy when he's on the toilet or watching a Notre Dame game unless it's an emergency." Those with kids understand this.
I used to say "Don't bother Daddy if he's on the toilet but you can if the Ty led team is in the toilet. Sorry to go potty mouth.

Today we can forget Purdue and go the Stanford game. This will be the last game of Weis (Split the season) and chances are we can get to 5-1.

We have a bye week coming up after the Stanford game. No game is scheduled for October 14th. This will mean a chance for the guys to rest any dings they have gotten and for the Coaches to install some tweaks and new schemes in preparation for UCLA and other opponents. As well eyeball the players and of course send the maximum Coaches the Magnificent Seven Coaches on the road to continue our recruiting success.


My main concerns today are to track down as many FRESH newbies we may have used in the game. I won't go into what others term the soft part of our schedule. We seemed to have used some new guys in the Purdue game. Now that the first 4 tough teams are out of the way it is imperative we have as many newbies play as is possible. Coach Tiller seemed proud of his Purdue team and termed them "Young Guys."

Come 2007 our veterans leave and our Trench fighters melt like a glacier from global warming. We seem to be OK in those skilled positions. Fans drool that Clausen is coming to save the day but I want to know who saves him from getting sacked on his butt? Meaningful time so that we can say as Tiller did, we are young but have a lot of experience and playing time.

Translation? I expect the grumbles over Minter, especially to continue. Were just going to have to insert some underclassmen for playing time and let them get burned as long as we are ahead. If not kiss even a so-so 2007 away.

What Went Wrong? Lack of Burning Desire

By Sir John

This really is one day I do not have to read the sports pages by experts to know what went wrong. 47-21.

I found the answer in what Coach Weis stated. "I was surprised that we collectively, from me on down laid an egg. I expected us to have a better performance."

Coach is saying that no one stepped up to the plate. "Let Joe do it." It was someone else's job to come out of mediocrity and be a star. Collectively means everybody, but that itself starts with each individual having the burning desire to win not being flat or lacking enthusiasm. Burning desire. Burning desire is an expression a wise coach once used to make undersized, overlooked nobodies manhandle teams better then they were.

There have been times I have said we don the blue and gold and simply show up saying 'We are Notre Dame and you're not.'

We often live in a rarefied atmosphere of we are the best. This fails to see that the other team usually wants us worse then we want them. It fails to see if we beat them we simply beat Michigan. If they beat us they beat Notre Dame and humiliated millions. That's incentive, that's burning desire.

It's having something go wrong once, then again and again until it is an unstoppable drumbeat. Collectively means waiting for someone else to do something.

That's an assistant coach even saying hold up, I have a better idea, or a player thinking 'I need to hit that sucker harder next time' or 'I need to run my route faster'.

The drumbeat of no 1st downs until minutes in the second quarter, 3 interceptions, 4 yards rushing and 11 penalties.

I got to thinking again about "Burning Desire", a limited edition book about my old high school, Flaget and it's coach, Paulie Miller. Paul Hornung came out of that school along with Howard Schellenberger.

There's a wide range of things coaches can do at halftime in a game if behind, whether it is deciding on personnel changes, schemes or chewing out a team. Important things and this is 2006 with complex offenses and defenses.

I'm reminded of an incident when Flaget got pounded in the first half and were trailing badly. Everyone trudged to the locker room except there were no coaches. The players sat around in silence waiting for the coaches to come and chew them out. Nobody appeared until a couple minutes before the half ended. The door opened and coach popped his head in and said, "Oh excuse me, girls, I was looking for the Flaget locker room."

One can't say that about 'girls' in politically correct 2006. But the team stormed out angrily and won that damned game. Sure, it was psychology in action. No schemes, no adjustments, just a mental change and the burning desire to win.

Penn State At Notre Dame Game Report

Sorry everyone the game recap is so late. I've had a busy week at school and haven't had a chance to do a recap. John Imre made a recap, and he gave me permission to post it on here. Enjoy!

By John Imre from ND Irish Fans

Fourteen years in the making and it finally comes to a close. Since the great "Snow Bowl" of 1992, both the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions have gone through strong turbulence in their programs. Just as great teams of college football do, they both have managed to muster a comeback in their respective manner. The place? What greater place than when they last met, Notre Dame Stadium. No snowfall and no sleet this time around, just great early season weather.

After an outstanding 11-1 last season and a victory over Akron in last week's opener, the Penn State Nittany Lions visited the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Irish marched downfield on the opening drive and cashed in on a field goal to give them an early three point lead. Clock management was one of the key Irish successes coming off of last season and it seems that some thing won't change. After consuming nearly 19 minutes in the first half, the Irish managed to put up a score of 20 -0. Brady Quinn threw 12 for 16 and 150 yards in the first half. The defense, after considerable questioning by the experts, kept the Nittany Lions at bay allowing their offense to do their magic. Make no mistake, Penn State quarterback, Anthony Morelli, put together some eye opening drives, but the Irish defense pulled together at critical plays and stopped Morelli and company from scoring until the third quarter. Morelli, who went 21 of 33 passing with one interception and a fumble, learned what it's like to play in a big game environment and learning wasn't easy to swallow. The Nittany Lion second half opening drive was quickly ended when Tom Zbikowski picked up a Maurice Crum, Jr. forced fumble on Morelli for touchdown. The day began to get longer for the Nittany Lions and they never seem to overcome their mistakes. The Irish, however, capitalized on these mistakes and closed the game as the fourth quarter neared. Brady Quinn ended the game at 25-36 passes, 288 yards and 3 touchdowns to Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and Darius Walker. Coach Weis, as always, took advantage of the overlooked tight end position as John Carlson racked up big numbers, 6 receptions for 98 yards. Travis Thomas put the nail in the coffin during a punt fake play and darted down field for 43 yards, setting up his own 1-yard touchdown run.

Penn State moved the ball frequently, but never finished their drives until late in the forth quarter against a second team defense.

A botched field goal attempt, an interception and fumbles proved too much for the Nittany Lions to recover from and the Notre Dame faithful canned any questions lingering in their minds.“Notre Dame played very well and they did a great job coaching,” said Joe Paterno after the game. “They outplayed us and their coaching staff did a great job." Although the Irish didn't play #1 Ohio State or #2 Texas, they did knock off a ranked Nittany Lion team with a sound well-rounded game to include offense, defense and special teams.

After missing 2 field goal attempts last week against Georgia Tech, Carl Gioia redeemed himself by splitting the uprights early in the first quarter. Travis Thomas if finding out just how intelligent of a staff he's dealing with. Travis is making his presence known on both sides of the ball and followed up with a touchdown. Something he probably didn't expect as he is listed as a starting linebacker. Statistically, today, Brady Quinn has lived up to expectations. While his supporting cast dropped a couple balls, he is well ahead of where he was in the second week of last season. "I thought Brady Quinn was a great player coming in and he didn’t do anything to change my mind,” Paterno said. Darius Walker was fairly quiet today in the running game, but came through with a Brady Quinn pass for touchdown.

Side Notes:
Penn State is a tough competitor and they should have enough in them to make waves in the Big 10 conference again. While the score may show the opposite, Anthony Morelli put together some great passes and lead his team very well. An early season showdown with another team such as the Irish should be a learning experience for the young quarterback and I don't suspect he'll lose any confidence. The famed and respected Coach Joe Paterno is putting together another young team that should not be overlooked. (Following information obtained from www.gopsusports.com). Today Tony Hunt became the 16th Nittany Lion to surpass 2,000 yards rushing for his career. Hunt surpasses Franco Harris (2,002) and Jon Williams (2,042) to move into 14th place on the Penn State all-time rushing chart.

Irish Narrowly Escape Yellowjackets, 14-10

Saturday night was a tense one for Notre Dame fans around the country. The Irish came into Bobby Dodd Stadium ranked #2. Georgia Tech came into this game expecting to win and pull off an upset, as you could see by the energy the whole team had. The stingy Georgia Tech run defense blitzed all night, performing stunts all around, pressuring top Heisman Trophy candidate Brady Quinn for most of the first half. The Notre Dame offense stalled for most of the first quarter, resulting in three punts. Georgia Tech was pressuring inside Notre Dame's five yard line when Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball dropped back a few steps and threw a jump ball to stud wide receiver Calvin Johnson. With a 6-inch height difference between him and Notre Dame cornerback Mike Richardson, Johnson easily nabbed the ball for a touchdown. After two Notre Dame drives in the second quarter, Notre Dame lined up on Georgia Tech's 5-yard line with sixteen seconds to go in the first half. With an empty backfield, Quinn took the snap, dropped back, and ran the ball in for a touchdown. It was a perfectly executed draw play that caught the whole Georgia Tech defense off guard. The Irish trailed 7-10 at halftime.

The whole second half was an entirely different atmosphere. The crowd was not into the game as much. The whole Georgia Tech team was fatigued. The Notre Dame offense was finally back on track. The Notre Dame offensive line was blocking the blitz, Darius Walker was getting yards, and Brady Quinn was completing his throws to the receivers. After the first Notre Dame drive of the second half, Darius Walker scored on a 13-yard run, stretching his body to break the plane of the goal line with the ball. After the Irish touchdown, it remained scoreless for the remaining time of the game. The Irish defense stepped up and held the Georgia Tech offense to 52 total yards, and allowing them to score no points. After Georgia Tech punted on 4th down late in the 4th quarter, Notre Dame has it's final drive as the Irish celebrated their 14-10 victory over the Yellowjackets.

Grades:
Offense:
Quarterback: Brady Quinn had a good night, not great. He had some trouble in the first half handling all of the pressure from the Georgia Tech defense, but came up with a rushing touchdown in the final seconds of the first half. He finally calmed down and led Notre Dame down the field in the second half, which led to a Darius Walker touchdown. He finished 23-38, with 246 passing yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Overall Grade: B

Running Backs: Darius Walker had a great night with 104 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 18 receiving yards. Walker scored on a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Travis Thomas also got some time at runningback, rushing for 19 yards. Asaph Schwapp had a great night himself as a fullback, rushing three times for 13 yards, while blocking for the other runningbacks and Quinn.
Overall Grade: B+

Receivers: Rhema McKnight was making some impact on his first start since last year against Michigan, getting eight receptions for 108 yards, including a long reception on a 44 yard pass. He almost came down with a spectacular diving, one-handed grab, but it was ruled incomplete after an official review. Samardzija did not do so well, though, getting only six receptions for 74 yards. Him and McKnight were being thrown to a lot on little receiver bubble screens, which did work well, except for one that got called back on a completely horrible call in which Rhema McKnight was called for holding, which was clearly NOT A HOLD. New starter John Carlson at tight end showed his ability to catch, with four receptions, 36 yards, and a long of 14 yards. He showed great hands on a pass that was tipped by him, then tipped by his defender, and caught it on the ground. The only question is will he be a consistent blocker?
Overall Grade: B+

Offensive Line: The offensive line had some trouble in the first half picking up Georgia Tech's heavy blitzing and handling the crowd noise of Bobby Dodd Stadium, but regrouped and played well for the rest of the game. True freshman Sam Young had some early troubles also, making some small mistakes any other freshman would in his first game as a starter. Ryan Harris had a huge pancake block later in the game, and the rest of the line was great.
Overall Grade: B-

Defense:
Defensive Line: The defensive line had an average night, getting a tackle here and there, but did not bring much pressure. Still, Abiamiri and the line should have a great season bringing pressure on opposing quarterbacks and runningbacks.
Overall Grade: C

Linebackers: Travis Thomas had a decent night for his first game starting at linebacker, tallying four tackles, two of them for losses. We got whipped on Georgia Tech's rush offense, though, allowing 146 yards from them. Reggie Ball whooped us, gaining 75 yards, more than the runningback. Some of that yardage came from big third down plays. If we want to get the ball back in games against mobile quarterbacks like Reggie Ball, our defensive line and linebackers will need to step it up and stop them from getting big runs, especially on third down.
Overall Grade: C

Secondary: If you watched this game and the Fiesta Bowl, you wil see there is a huge difference in the secondaries. You might even not know that the secondary from the Georgia Tech game was Notre Dame's secondary. Remember the air raids that Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith gave us in the Fiesta Bowl? Not the case this time versus Georgia Tech. This secondary has greatly changed. We know this because this new and improved secondary held Georgia Tech to only 140 total passing yards. Those numbers are foreign compared to the 342 passing yards given up by the secondary in the Fiesta Bowl. Although there was a long 45-yard completion to Calvin Johnson and a 4-yard touchdown to Calvin Johnson on a jump-ball drill, the secondary played great. This is step #1 to our national champinoship run.
Overall Grade: A

Special Teams:
Kickoffs: Bobby Renkes was solid on kickoffs, averaging 64.7 yards on three kicks, and had one touchback.
Overall Grade: A

Field Goals: Carl Gioia: 0/2, missed from 42 yards and 36 yards. Either Gioia needs to fix his inconsistency NOW, or we will need to start a new field goal/PAT kicker. Coach Weis: "Carl, you've missed two field goals. You're going to make the next one."
Overall Grade: F

Punting: Geoff Price had a terrific night for his first career start at punter, finishing with 252 yards punting, averaging 50.4 per punt, and a long of 61 yards, on five punts. He also had one punt inside the 20 yard line. A great start for our new punter, who has a booming leg and great accuracy.
Overall Grade: A+

Returns: We had a pretty good returning game, especially on kickoff returns, considering we only returned two kickoffs. David Grimes returned one kickoff for 46 yards, while freshman George West returned one kickoff for 33 yards. Georgia Tech punted away from Tom Zbikowski for most of the game, but he did manage to get 30 yards with a long of 17 yards.
Overall Grade: A-

Final Analysis:
The offense had trouble advancing the ball in the first half, until the final few minutes. Partly this is because of all of the pressure of the blitzing Georgia Tech defense, pressuring Brady Quinn. The defense was very much improved, holding Georgia Tech to 259 total offensive yards. They contained Georgia Tech standout receiver Calvin Johnson well, holding him to 111 yards and one touchdown. Darius Walker had a great night, rushing for 104 yards and one touchdown, and receiving for 18 yards. Rhema McKnight was back in action, catching eight passes for 108 yards. Brady Quinn finished 23-38, 246 passing yards, and one rushing touchdown.

The special teams played superbly. Geoff Price had a huge night, starting for the first time at punter. He punted for 252 yards, averaging 50.4 yards per punt, and a booming 61-yard punt. The kickoff return team was great, also, with David Grimes returning one kick for 46 yards, and speedy freshman George West returning one kick for 33 yards. Tom Zbikowski finished with 30 punt return yards. Bobby Renkes was solid at kickoffs for the Irish, averaging 64.7 yards per kickoff on three kicks.

Now, the bad part. Carl Gioia. Gioia missed two field goals, one from 42 yards and another from 36 yards. This is pretty bad, considering our high school's kicker easily made a 31-yarder and Nick Folk of the University of Arizona nailed a 48-yard field goal with the wind against him, to win the game 16-13 against BYU. If Gioia does not improve right now, and fix his inconsistencies, Coach Weis may be forced to either go for it on 4th downs outside the 20, or put in freshman Ryan Burkhart or senior Bobby Renkes. Nice win, Irish!!!