Bleacher Report - Articles by Weis Gipper

Hawaii Five-O Pt. Six: The Mele Kalikimaka Edition

Weis Gipper — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:12:22 -0500

The sixth and final installment of our look back at Hawaii's 2008 season recaps the final three contests of the Warriors regular season.

After winning only their second contest on the road, Hawaii closed out the regular season with their remaining games at Aloha Stadium, starting with the Warriors' matchup with Idaho.

For the second straight game Hawaii got production from both sides of the ball to steamroll to its most lopsided win of the year, 49-17, over the Vandals. Greg Alexander completed 14-of-24 passes for 264 yards and a career-high three touchdowns to power the Warrior offense. Malcolm Lane caught four passes for a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns, while Daniel Libre scored two rushing touchdowns.

The Warrior defense was just as impressive, as they held Idaho to 219 yards, picked off three passes, and recovered one fumble. Hawaii also set a season high in sacks with seven, as they held the Vandals to 49 yards on the ground.

Hawaii made quick use of their offensive possessions, as they had four touchdown drives lasting 30 seconds or less, while another was just 68 seconds long.

Next up for the Warriors was an out of conference contest with Washington State. Hawaii got off to a quick start and despite missing numerous opportunities won comfortably against the Cougars, 24-10.

Hawaii was in complete control of the game early, though the Cougars hung around through the final quarter. The Warriors never trailed but needed a late third quarter touchdown to help seal the win.

Once again, Greg Alexander led the Hawaii attack as he threw for a career-best 315 yards on 19-of-34 passing. Wide receiver Greg Salas led a potent Hawaii receiving corps with a career-high 131 receiving yards on seven receptions. Aaron Bain (71) and Michael Washington (81) also combined for 152 yards receiving.

Meanwhile, the Warrior defense held Washington State to just 10 points and 196 yards of offense, both season lows for a Hawaii opponent. The defense recorded five sacks and recovered two fumbles.

Big East Champ Cincinnati rounded out the regular season finale for the Warriors, who blew a 14-point lead with 12:36 remaining in the game and lost 29-24.

Hawaii trailed 10-0 for much of the first half before rallying with 24 straight points of their own, which spanned three quarters, before the Bearcats' rally. Warrior QB Greg Alexander completed 28-of-42 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw one interception that ignited the Cincinnati squad.

The Warriors were not very disciplined against the Bearcats, being penalized 11 times for 109 yards, and gave up five sacks.

Senior Day was a downer, but a home bowl game against the Fighting Irish was looming as they try and finish off the 2008 campaign with another winning record.

For more in-depth reports on Notre Dame Football and Fighting Irish Athletics, log on to Irish Band of Brothers:

http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

Zach Hillesland Is Key to Irish Success

Weis Gipper — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:03:55 -0500

Coming into this season many were worried who could step in Rob Kurz's spot of doing the dirty work for the Fighting Irish. So far it has been off and on, but Notre Dame needs Zach Hillesland to be the aggressor.

It couldn't have been more evident last Saturday when the Irish squeaked out a close one at home to Boston University. Hillesland was a lot more active than he was in previous contests as he scored 11 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out three assists, and had three steals in 28 minutes of action. He was a lot more aggressive on both ends of the court and will hopefully continue that as conference play looms.

Hillesland has to be that way if this Irish team wants to get where they want to go. Luke Harangody has to bring the double-doubles. Tory Jackson has to the facilitator and heartbeat, but you really need Hillesland to be active and aggressive. And when he is like that, he's a matchup nightmare in the Big East.

There's really no one in the conference, maybe one or two players, that can get it off the defensive backboard at 6-9, push the pace up the floor with the dribble, and try and find the open man. When Hillesland is doing that, and screening for guys like Kyle McAlarney, that's when he is the most effective for the Irish.

Against Ohio State he got into early foul trouble that put Notre Dame at a disadvantage early on and got them out of any rhythm. You really had to look back at the final box score and think how long he was in the game, because he really didn't do anything that would make you believe he was on the court.

So if he stays out of foul trouble and doesn't take it upon himself to score many points, because Notre Dame has plenty of guys that will be able to score; he can be active the way Coach Brey and the Irish need him to be. If that happens the Irish will be more difficult to matchup against this season in the Big East.

Another X-Factor that might loom large in conference play could be the human highlight reel in Carleton Scott. Nobody on this squad is better playing above the rim than Scott. He's an absolute freak when it comes to being an athlete. I know I'm throwing a Tom Lemming recruiting term around, but just the way he plays reminds me of a young Ryan Humphrey.

When Humphrey was donning the Blue and Gold, you'd think where ever he was on the court he'd slam it down. Whether if he drove down the lane and threw it down or on the other end and swatted it away up into the gold seats of the JACC, Carleton Scott has all those features which could make him a important commodity.

Scott sat out all of last year to preserve that year of eligibility. He's still coming along slowly and it would be very nice for Brey to get him going in the rotation. But with the way Brey works his rotation, only eight guys are playing double-digit minutes. Scott is on the verge of playing six, seven, maybe eight minutes a game, but he needs to step it up a little more if he wants to see the floor.

Again if this team is going to do something special, they'll need a contribution from Carleton Scott somewhere along the line. Whether it's Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, UConn, or any other Big East foe, he'll have to come through with a pretty good showing.

From more in depth information on Notre Dame Basketball and Fighting Irish Football, log onto Irish Band of Brothers.

Hawaii Five-O Pt. Five: The Brady Bunch Tiki Idol Edition

Weis Gipper — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:54:36 -0500

Today's installment of the Warriors' 2008 football season centers on games nine and 10.

As bad as many Irish fans felt when they lost 24-23 to Syracuse, Hawaii fans felt just as bad when the Warriors suffered one of its most disappointing losses of the season, falling to Utah State, 30-14. Once again, Hawaii had a tough time away from the friendly confines of Aloha Stadium.

This was a game of missed opportunities for the Warriors, who outgained Utah State (374-368) but failed to score on three first-and-goal opportunities and had a field goal blocked by the Aggie defense.

Greg Alexander, making his first start since the season opener at Florida, finished 13-of-27 for 186 yards and one touchdown for the Warriors. The junior quarterback also added 57 yards of rushing, including a nine-yard touchdown run.

Michael Lane led the Warrior receivers with seven catches for 77 yards, while Daniel Libre rushed for 59 yards on seven carries.

The lingering effects of the loss to Utah State didn't last long, as the Warriors won their second game on the mainland, this time defeating New Mexico State 42-30. Hawaii rebounded by exploding for a season-high in points (42) and yards (447). The Warriors also got their second defensive touchdown of the season.

Once again Greg Alexander led the Warrior offense by completing 26-of-32 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. The junior quarterback also ran for a score, the second straight week that happened. After sitting out last week, Kealoha Pilares returned with 99 yards of total offense on 10 catches and two runs.

Hawaii won the total yardage battle as well, outgaining New Mexico State 447 to 400. Despite giving up 394 yards through the air, the Warriors intercepted two passes, including one returned 91 yards by DB Ryan Mouton for a game-changing touchdown.

With this win, Hawaii evened its overall record to 5-5 on the season and is putting together some cohesiveness on offense with Alexander under center.

Tomorrow we'll conclude our look at the Hawaii Warriors' 2008 season with their three remaining contests against Idaho, Washington State, and Cincinnati.

Hawaii Five-O Pt. Four: Give Me Some Poi Edition

Weis Gipper — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:49:28 -0500

The fourth part of our look back at Hawaii's 2008 football season takes us to the Warriors' contests with Boise State and Nevada.

After winning two straight over rival WAC foes, Hawaii traveled to Boise and faced the 15th-ranked Broncos. The Warriors held Boise State to its lowest first-half point total of the season and trailed just 10-7 at the break. But once again, turnovers would prove to be very costly to Hawaii.

The Warriors turned the ball over four times in the second half, including its first two possessions after the break, to allow the Broncos to pull away and secure their 27-7 victory. In all, Hawaii's Inoke Funaki threw five interceptions, with Boise State sophomore defensive back Brandyn Thompson recording three of the picks.

The Warriors came out strong on both sides of the ball to begin the game. The Warrior defense forced Boise State to punt after four offensive plays. The Hawaii offense took over on its own 14-yard line and proceeded on a 15-play drive that took nearly half the quarter. The Warriors, however, saw the drive stall deep in Bronco territory when they were stuffed on a 4th-and-1.

Hawaii once again was held under 300 yards of total offense (288) and gave up seven sacks to the Broncos.

Getting back to the island was all the Warriors needed, as Greg Alexander connected with Malcolm Lane for a 24-yard touchdown with 20 seconds remaining to lift Hawaii to a 38-31 victory over Nevada.

Alexander took the reins of the Warrior offense after Funaki went down in the first half, and he didn't disappoint. The junior quarterback finished 17-of-22 for 205 yards and two touchdowns in one half’s work.

Hawaii won despite being outgained 481-331. Hawaii had just 42 yards of offense in the first half, but the Warrior defense and special teams helped the team stake a 14-10 lead at the half.

The Warriors pulled off the win after a fourth-quarter rally by the Wolf Pack. Nevada erased a 14-point deficit and tied the game with 1:31 left before Alexander's last second heroics.

Hawaii has now evened their record to 4-4 with two road contests looming at WAC doormats Utah State and New Mexico State. Will the Warriors struggle once again on the road, or will they come out prevailing? Come back tomorrow to find out!

For the latest information on Notre Dame Football and Fighting Irish Athletics, log on to Irish Band of Brothers:

http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

Will Yeatman Leaves Notre Dame: Journey Still Has Plenty of Forks in the Road

Weis Gipper — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:49:21 -0500

He was going back and forth for quite some time with his decision, but Will Yeatman is officially transferring from the University of Notre Dame. While he has made up his mind to leave, there are still a few other entanglements involved here.

As we all know, Yeatman is a good football player and an exceptional lacrosse player, where he earned All-America honors as a freshman. He requested permission to talk to some schools this past Monday, Dec. 15, and was granted that permission to do so.

Will's indecisiveness has been going on since Dec. 5, and he has been in talks with both coaches and administrators about possibilities. There were a lot of NCAA rules he had to navigate, as well as some Notre Dame policies, which will make anyone's head spin.

He definitely will be playing both football and lacrosse at some institution in the near future. The question now will be, how soon?

Many will be wondering whether his decision was based on the coaches or his teammates. Rest assured that Yeatman's decision was 100 percent based on the non-athletic related issues.

Basically what happened is that Will feels that both sets of coaches and teammates were extremely supportive. What he can't get past and what he tried to do was serve his suspension and move forward. Yeatman is not a kid that is trying to duck any punishment.

He just felt like that he couldn't start over. He did take it upon himself and said numerous times to everyone that he wanted to start over and show everyone that he's of good character and can make significant contributions to the university on and off the fields. But there were other folks on campus that wouldn't let Will do that (Student Affairs and Residence Life Offices).

Will thought maybe a fresh start is what everybody needs, so that's when he decided to talk to his respective coaches. Coach Weis was very understanding and knew that North Carolina was a school that he always wanted to go to. In fact, when Yeatman was on his recruiting trip to Chapel Hill, Charlie called him and convinced him to come to Notre Dame. So UNC is the top school of where he wants to be.

The stickiness is that North Carolina is also a powerhouse in lacrosse, which happens to be on the Fighting Irish's schedule this spring. There are not a lot of schools—in fact there are 11 of them—that play high level football and lacrosse.

So once you take Notre Dame out of the mix, then the list narrows down to 10, and then you look at both the Irish's lacrosse and football schedules. After that, you're pinpointing four schools, which I'm not sure is real fair.

Banned List for Football

Navy: Definitely out because ND and the Middies play every year
Army: Play the Irish at Soldier Field in 2010
Syracuse: Details are in the works, but definitely out as well

Banned List for Lacrosse

Air Force
Penn State
Ohio State
North Carolina

All of these schools play the Irish this season

Schools Left

Duke
Maryland
Rutgers
Virginia

This decision was something that came to Yeatman fairly recently. When everything came down originally after his latest arrest—those charges were never filed, mind you—his first instincts were he should have left South Bend on the next plane.

Instead he decided he's not going to run away from this and serve his punishment and try to start all over again here at Notre Dame. Basically he was taking his medicine and seeing how this thing would play out.

But once October turned to November and November turned into December, the same kind of negative attitudes were coming at him. He felt that he could never start over again here, so then he decided why not go someplace where he can be happy.

Again, it had nothing to do with the football coaches or his teammates. They couldn't have been more supportive throughout this entire ordeal. Yeatman felt that another place of scenery would be the best for his well-being. That's when he got the ball rolling on Dec. 5 and met with both coaches. Coach Weis told him that he wouldn't stand in his way whatsoever.

But again there might be some entanglements that won't allow him to play lacrosse this spring and sit out another year. This will be the second year that Yeatman will be away from his best sport.

When he did speak with Coach Corrigan, there was a lot of tension because Corrigan stated a number of reasons why he should continue and stay in South Bend. Coming into this meeting, Yeatman was still undecided on whether or not he was leaving for another school. But after his meeting with Corrigan, he made up his mind and decided on another program.

When reached for comment yesterday, Coach Corrigan did not release anything about Will's status and North Carolina, except that he said this issue is still not over. So you can decide for yourself how he feels about Yeatman's decision.

Make no mistake about it, Will Yeatman loves Notre Dame, but he felt that this is not a good fit for him anymore. This was finally one of the better decisions he has made since he arrived to South Bend.

Best of luck Will on your future endeavors.

For more in depth and up to date information on Notre Dame Football and Fighting Irish Athletics, log onto Irish Band of Brothers: http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

Hawaii Five-O Pt. 3: The Magnum P.I. Edition

Weis Gipper — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:01:04 -0500

The continuation of our six part series of the 2008 Hawaii Warrior Football season takes us to games five and six. After dropping two straight to Oregon State and lowly San Jose State at home, Hawaii started to gain some momentum beginning at Fresno State.

The Warriors pulled off the improbable with a 32-29 overtime win over No. 22 Fresno State, which saw Hawaii surrender a 17-point second-half lead and survive a last-minute field goal attempt by the Bulldogs to win the game in regulation.

Hawaii was out gained by Fresno State, 522-342 in total yards, but won the turnover battle. A week after turning the ball over six times and losing on a last-minute field goal to San Jose State, Hawaii turned the tables at Fresno. The Warriors took advantage of six Bulldog turnovers to lead for nearly the entire game. They intercepted three Bulldog passes, including two picks by Keao Monteilh, and recovered three fumbles. UH turned four of those turnovers into 20 points.

The Warriors rushed for a season-high 172 yards, led by quarterback Inoke Funaki's 79 yards. He also threw for 170 yards and two scores.

What was even more impressive was this was the first-ever Hawaii road win over a ranked opponent. Fresno State was No. 22 coming into this matchup.

Game six saw the Warriors return back to Aloha Stadium for Homecoming against WAC foe Louisiana Tech. Once again, Hawaii got off to a fast start and created opportunistic turnovers to beat the Bulldogs 24-14.

The Warriors produced four turnovers—two fumbles and two interceptions—sealing its second straight WAC win. Funaki moved the Hawaii offense by passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another. The junior completed 16-of-27 passes and finished with a career-high 224 yards.

The Warriors out gained the Bulldogs 402-358 in yards and allowed just 52 yards of total offense by Louisiana Tech in the second half, until the final drive with the game already decided.

As you can see, Hawaii is starting to gel as a team and protect the football, while creating turnovers. Plus, they are gaining needed leadership on offense from Fuanki.

Tomorrow, we'll dive into the second half of the season with recaps of the Boise State and Nevada games.

For more in depth information on Notre Dame's matchup with Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, log onto Irish Band of Brothers: http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

Hawaii Five-O Pt. 2: The Don Ho Edition

Weis Gipper — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:00:02 -0500

This is the second part of our in depth look at the Hawaii Warriors 2008 campaign. The last time we left off, the Warriors were standing at 1-1 with their home opening win over FCS foe Weber State. But unfortunately for Hawaii, things would get worse before they got any better.

Game three included a trip out to Corvallis, against a good Oregon State team which beat up on the Warriors 45-7. In this contest, Hawaii had less total yards than any game in the last ten years (211 yards).

Tyler Graunke got the start, which made him the third quarterback to play for the Warriors this season. The Beavers racked up a lot of rushing yards against Hawaii which was not atypical because Oregon State pounded the ball on almost everyone they faced this season.

So this was not the same Hawaii club we saw the previous year under June Jones and Colt Brennan as they were struggling early and dropped to 1-2 on the year.

The next week the Warriors faced WAC foe San Jose State. This was a real big surprise, because Hawaii generally plays great at Aloha Stadium and the Spartans are not that great, but lost to San Jose St. 20-17. And this showed they were a struggling football team. Losing to San Jose St. was, I'm sure; something Greg McMackin had not planned on at the beginning of the year.

Hawaii had six turnovers against the Spartans. They did a decent job defensively in holding San Jose St., but four interceptions and two fumbles was just too much to overcome. This was the Warriors second, six turnover performance of the season (Florida). That obviously was an early season problem the Warriors had to correct to right their ship.

One of the reasons why Hawaii turned it around was the play of quarterback Alexander. I'm not sure why it took so long for the Warriors to settle on him to be their quarterback. He started the first game, and then didn't get the not till the end of the year.

These were two very interesting games but this team does not look anything like games three and four. They made those changes at QB with Alexander as they finished up 7-6. The Warriors played very competitively against Cincinnati, which shows that they're a quality team that can play with anybody.

For the Fighting Irish, it's going to be very tough to win because the Warriors play extremely tough at Aloha Stadium and will be traveling quite a ways for the Christmas Eve showdown. It doesn't mean here's no reason why the Irish can't play the way they're capable of, unlike the second half of the season.

Last week, Tom Lemming said Notre Dame is definitely more talented than Hawaii, but then again, the Irish are more talented than 11 of the other teams they faced this season. At some point the talent will have to show up on the field. A good start would be 12/24/08!

Tomorrow will look back at Hawaii's contest with Fresno State and Louisiana Tech.

For more in depth information on Fighting Irish Football and Notre Dame Athletics, Log onto Irish Band of Brothers: http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

Hawaii Five-O, Err, I Mean The Warrior 411

Weis Gipper — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:37:45 -0500

Who are these Hawaii Warriors you speak of? Well today will be the first installment of six covering Hawaii's 7-6 season, and leading up to their matchup with the Fighting Irish on December 23rd.

Hawaii Warriors
Conference: Western Athletic
Conference Record:5-3, T-2nd
Home Record: 5-2
Road Record: 2-4
Best Win: at Fresno State 32-29, OT
Best Loss: Cincinnati 29-24

Head Coach: Greg McMackin, 1st Season

McMackin was named Hawaii's head coach January of this year after June Jones left to take the head coaching position at SMU. He became the 21st Coach of the program's history and served two stints as defensive coordinator in 1999 and 2007.

Prior to joining Hawaii in 1999, McMackin was a defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks for four seasons under former coach Dennis Erikson.

So he's been around for quite some time now. He's a defensive oriented guy, but he obviously doesn't have the weapons on defense to get the job done because this Hawaii team gave up a ton of points this year (27.3). They were 72nd in the FBS in scoring defense, and gave up a lot of points to big name teams.

National Rankings

Offense
Rushing: 107th (99.3 ypg)
Passing: 33rd (245 ypg)
Total: 74th (344 ypg)

Definitely a huge drop off from last season's squad that made it to the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

Defense
Rushing: 73rd (148 ypg)
Passing: 54th (203.85 ypg)
Passing Eff.: 64th (126.3)
Total: 59th (351 ypg)

One statistic that pops out that should make Irish fans hopeful is Hawaii's pass efficiency numbers. Being 54th in the nation is alright, but then when you look at the Quarterbacks they faced, it should give Notre Dame some reason they could move the ball down the field with ease through the air.

This season it seems like when the Warriors were on the road they were not a very good team, and even when they were at home they were not as dominate as they have been. Hawaii was 5-2 at home this season, and are 22-4 over their last 26 games. So playing them on their own carpet is not an easy task for the Fighting Irish whatsoever.

Hawaii's pass offense is still pass happy as they threw 452 passes this year. They did give up 49 sacks, which is one of their weaknesses and one of the worst in the FBS. They're still dangerous because they can score a little. Anytime you throw that much in that system you have to be ready for it.

In terms of the start of the year Hawaii lost 14 starters. They had 12 returners, only four on offense (3 OL and 1 RB), and on defense they had five returning starters. They did have three speciality players back, so this was a team that didn't have a lot of key guys back.

But this was a program that had been making some noise in the previous years under Coach Jones. So I guess we'll have to give Colt Brennan a lot of credit because he put up some ridiculous numbers in Honolulu.

Now we're going to look back at Hawaii's first two games of the season and get a sense of how their season unfolded.

Their first game of the year was not exactly a fun trip because A.) it was a long trip, and B.) you're playing a powerhouse in the Florida Gators. 90,575 fans, the second largest to witness a Hawaii football game, dropped their fourth season opener in the last five years, 56-10.

Hawaii got off to a good start as they drove down in Gator territory on their first two possessions and held the high powered Florida offense scoreless in the first quarter. But it was all Gators as they scored 56 points in the middle two quarters of the game. The Warriors turned it over six times, including four interceptions.

With so many new faces on the Hawaii roster, the Warriors knew it was going to be difficult. But running into Florida was a tough circumstance for a team that went through some coaching and personnel changes.

Florida scored in four different ways against Hawaii: two by interception, a punt return, a run, and then a couple of long passes by Tim Tebow. One of the interceptions was returned 80-yards, so that was not a good way to kick off the season.

In terms of first downs it was Florida 20, Hawaii 16. But if you look at some of the other numbers - Rushing (24 carries for 60 yards) and Passing (21-of-39 for 181 yards and 4 ints) - that's just not Warrior football in terms of throwing the ball effectively. Florida won the total yards battle, 406 to 231, and when you're minus six in turnover margin you have ZERO chance to win the game.

Another telling stat of the game was that Hawaii used three different quarterbacks.

The best way to remedy a bad start is to schedule Weber State in game two. And that's exactly what the Warriors did as they won 36-17 at home.

After trailing 17-7 at the half, Hawaii scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win. In this game Hawaii had 305 passing yards, out gained Weber State 438-213.

The comeback was sparked by Tyler Gronkey, the senior quarterback who replaced the starter. So far Hawaii has used four different quarterbacks through two games!

Early on in the season the Warriors had a difficult time taking care of of the football, and that's something that will not win you a lot of games. And that too has been a big problem for the Fighting Irish over the last month and a half of the season.

Both Hawaii and Notre Dame had reversals of seasons. During the beginning, Hawaii was not a very good team, while the Irish came out of September playing very well; minus the Michigan State game. Once the teams got to October, the roles reversed as the Irish began to struggle while Hawaii started to come on strong beating the likes of Nevada, a horrible Washington State team, and almost had Cincinnati beat last Saturday. So that right there should open the eyes of the Irish players and coaches.

We'll continue to go over the Warriors season the next few days with the Oregon State and San Jose State recaps coming tomorrow.

For more up-to-date information on Notre Dame football and Fighting Irish Athletics, log onto Irish Band of Brothers: http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

Hard Lessons Learned: Notre Dame Regroups After Tough Loss to Ohio State

Weis Gipper — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:42:42 -0500

If there was any doubt, Luke Harangody erased them in the first few minutes of last Saturday's game. He put forth an incredible effort in the five-point loss, and he still wasn't at full strength.

In fact, he wasn't around 80-85 percent healthy. During timeouts and stops in play, he was really working hard to catch his breath.

LaPhonso Ellis had pneumonia three times and talked about it on the radio broadcast. Your stamina is basically shot, and what Luke did against the Buckeyes—25 points and 16 rebounds—was amazing. Right now, no one can stop this guy, which bodes well for the Irish.

The rest of the team, however, did not play very well at all. Nobody was happy with the way they played, and it was not at all near the way I think they could play. Yet with 28 seconds left in the game, it was still a one-point contest after being down by as many as 10.

Ohio State, not ranked at the time, is a very talented team with a couple of young McDonald's All-Americans. They just beat a ranked Miami squad on the road and played with nothing to lose. That was abundantly apparent from their tenacious defense.

The Buckeyes' 1-2-2 zone was so active that I wasn't sure if they were in zone or man defense. That's how effective it was against the Irish. OSU's players are long, quick, and played together as a team. They also effectively took Kyle McAlarney out of the game, as none of the other Notre Dame players stepped up. Ohio State deserved to win this game.

But if you could trade this lesson for an important Big East conference game in January or February, I'll take it. It's better to get these tough goings out of the way now so they can be prepared in the next months ahead.

What Saturday's game came down to was physical and mental toughness. The Irish weren't tough enough on the boards on either end of the court. They have to be more physical, tougher at getting rebounds off the glass and getting to loose balls. That's probably the biggest thing that came out of this game—and it's something Coach Brey said after the game to his team.

If they don't show up rebounding tough and executing better on offense, then they're just an average team. They need to do those two things to be a good team now and later down the line.

Even though he had a rough go at the beginning of the game, Tory Jackson remains the heart of this team. He's the one that makes them go by being a leader and becoming more vocal on the court. He personally had the last 11 of the Irish's 12 points. Jackson was the one that brought them back to within one by connecting on several three-point buckets.

Tory has to be on his game and has to be confident. This was the first time I'm seen him make two, back-to-back mistakes since his first game he played after McAlarney was suspended two seasons ago. I've never seen him go into a funk like he did on Saturday.

That has to be a learning experience for him too. He has to be the leader on the floor, as well as through his actions. He emotionally charges them up with his play. He's done it well to this point, and I know he'll do it again. I'm pretty sure he's already addressed it since.

I'm definitely not pinning this loss on Tory, because his numbers weren't that bad: 13 points, five assists, a couple of steals, and three turnovers (two in a span of 30 seconds that changed the momentum of the game).

Notre Dame has to realize that they are no longer under the radar by any means. They have made a living out of exceeding expectations. Well, when you're a Top 10 team, and when those expectations are awfully high, you don't sneak up on anyone.

Ohio State was ready and played their game to perfection. They're going to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten, especially if they can keep that pressure zone and play that 1-2-2 zone defense to perfection.

I'm glad Notre Dame got to play at Lucas Oil Stadium and get that big-time atmosphere out of the way. First of all, it is a massive building. The ceiling is so high that it is one of the biggest buildings that I've ever been in. That fact that it is not round, but rectangular, makes it even bigger.

Because the Midwest Regional is there, as well as other Regionals being played in these big facilities, I'm glad the Irish got this one under their belts.

Now the Irish can regroup and get the kinks out the next few games before they face DePaul in Chicago on New Year's Eve.

Tiny Bubbles: Notre Dame Prepares for Hawaii Bowl Against the Warriors

Weis Gipper — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:16:38 -0500

With the travel plans already set in stone, the Fighting Irish are setting their sights on their Hawaii Bowl game with the hometown Warriors. Even though this is not what many Irish fans had hoped for, this game is a good alternative on many levels.

First of all, this a pretty good option considering that the other bowls like Shreveport were not marquee destinations that you want to send your team or fans to. To be perfectly honest, I believe the Irish have a good chance to win this ball game even though you are playing in Hawaii's backyard.

The alternative would have been a dangerous 9-3 Rice squad that is loaded on the offensive side of the ball. Definitely a shootout that Notre Dame wouldn't have wanted to be a part of.

What I don't understand is, why all the negativity of going to the Hawaii Bowl? It's a snobbish, elitist thing to do if they didn't go, and worst yet, the media and all the ND haters would have thought the same too. I'm perfectly happy with this game on many levels.

1) Playing in front of their top target.

Notre Dame didn't do a good sales pitch the first time Manti Te'o saw the Irish against Syracuse. Now he has two huge weeks of Notre Dame infomercials throughout his state of the Irish playing in the bowl game.

2) Keeping up with the Joneses.

With all the extra practice time, Notre Dame can stay on par with the other 60+ schools that will be playing in the postseason. If the Irish don't go, then they are well behind the other programs that are benefiting from the 15 extra practices. Better yet, Nevada is going to a bowl and will have this time to get others ready for spring ball and next season.

3) Stresses fundamentals.

These extra practices the Irish get for Hawaii Bowl preparations are great for the younger players. It helps them get up to speed on technique and a leg up for spring ball.

4) Stop the streak.

Simply put, if you don't play, the streak continues for another year. What do they have to lose, really? Is there much difference between 6-6 and 6-7? A win won't erase the entire 2008 season, but it will definitely build some momentum heading into the 2009 campaign.

So leading up to the Christmas Eve showdown, there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered.

Q. How are the Irish health-wise?

A. They are going to be fairly healthy and full go with most of their players. Brian Smith and Michael Floyd are the two most Irish fans are concerned about. If everything goes well with them this week, they should be on the practice field on Friday before they chart the plane to Hawaii. So they'll get in a few practices before they head into the Aloha state.

The Irish are only practicing 10 times total before the game, and both Smith and Floyd have already missed practices one and two. Both of them are pretty much good to go on Friday unless there is a snag in the plans.

Armando Allen is also scheduled to be back on Friday as well. His return will give Notre Dame some more added depth at the running back position.

Robert Hughes, who was originally thought to have been suspended for the first half of the bowl game, instead will miss the first half of the Nevada game. Per NCAA rule, a player must sit out a half of a regular season game. They do not punish a student-athlete during a bowl game.

Terrail Lamber, who missed the last three games, is back practicing at full speed.

Mike Anello will not be playing against the Warriors due to a cracked fibula and will miss two to four months to heal. Basically he'll miss spring ball. And yes, he's right at the top of the list of fifth-year returners.

Lastly, Robby Parris had a knee sprain and missed the USC game. If he does come back for practices, it won't be until the Irish arrive in Hawaii on Dec. 20. So you're probably not going to see Parris in action at all during the bowl game.

Q. Any Possible Transfers Looming?

A. This is definitely the time of the season for it, and you're probably not going to hear any talk until after the bowl game. There's not going to be as many like last season, but I've already heard rumblings of one player. He's not a surprise by any means if he does decide to transfer, and he would be leaving on good terms, which wasn't the case for some players last season.

We'll have to wait and see how it plays out this week. You're not going to see a mass exodus with hard feelings like last year, that's for sure.

Q. Did Notre Dame have many bowl options, and is this the best option for the Irish?

A. After hearing the players talk on Monday, I do believe this is the best situation for them. They were pretty excited about going to Hawaii and breaking the bowl skid. Had it been Shreveport or Detroit, I would have said it would have been a real downer. You're 6-6 and being rewarded with the Independence Bowl against Louisiana Tech. Yee-haw!

I don't mean to bad-mouth Shreveport, but I've spent almost two years down there, and it felt like forever. It's not a fun place to go for a bowl game.

I realize this is a business trip, but when you're 18, 19, or 20 years old, you want to enjoy this moment. From that standpoint, it was a good decision.

Plus there are a few benefits from going which I didn't state from above. Besides being in Te'o's face for a few weeks, if we land him in South Bend, he'll be the biggest victory for the Irish this season. He's that good of a player.

Secondly, this bowl game gets Notre Dame away from the negative residue that is still bubbling around the team's recent struggles and Charlie Weis. If the Irish are going to have a lot of media following them around on this trip, which there won't be too many, it's not going to be bash on ND week. So you won't see and read stories of an Irish meltdown or train wreck.

Basically you're going to see the media legitimately cover the Irish in a professional manner. So no Jeff Carroll hate on the Irish pieces. Thank God!

If fans weren't happy about this game, the alternative would have been worse: Rice in Houston at the Texas Bowl. The Owls have a dynamic offense with a good quarterback and an All-America receiver in Jarret Dillard. Once again Notre Dame would have been playing in an opponent's backyard. Plus, how many fans have the NFL network?

I'll take paradise over a bad loss any day. And yes, I'll explain why I believe the Irish will beat Hawaii in the coming days.

Q. How often does a long snapper get a scholarship?

A. How many teenagers are willing to clean their rooms without any complaining? That's how often it happens in college football. Jordan does come from a great high school that produced Sam Young and Dan Wenger, and also next year's punter Ben Turk.

Maybe Charlie is looking back at the bad snap in the Syracuse game. We do criticize him for not taking special teams seriously. But by getting a guy who's only going to be doing this for four years, and doing it well, is definitely worth the scholarship. He's one of the best in the country at long snapping, so this one is justified.

Maybe this is something new we haven't seen before, but ND usually can get someone like a J.J. Jansen to do this job. Charlie, unlike some other coaches, doesn't like to use other position players as long snappers. So if Weis is serious about special teams, he's putting his money where his mouth is.

Q. Scholarship Availability: Are they OK to give one to a long snapper?

A. It's okay because the Irish are not chasing many players. I think if there was a coaching change, you would have seen Notre Dame go after a quarterback. Right now, all they are mostly looking at is defensive linemen and linebackers for their remaining scholarships.

When you start looking at some of the positions, the Irish are building some depth. There's pretty good depth at running back as long as nobody leaves. They've got the two recruits, Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick, as well as this year's freshman, Jonas Gray. At the receiver positions, ND is awfully deep, and at tight end they'll be back to being deep next season.

It's really the front seven of the defense they are focusing on, with the two top targets at linebacker in Te'o and Jelani Jenkins. Both are the top linebackers in the country, and chances are the Irish are not going to land both, if any at all. So it is justified to give a scholarship to Cowart.

Charlie hasn't used his 85-scholarship limit either. ND is not going to get involved in anyone new that is looking at non-BCS conferences.

Fighting Irish Have Tough Road to Hoe in 2009

Weis Gipper — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:27:09 -0500

As the regular season and conference championship games end this weekend, the overall statistics of Notre Dame still might be hard to swallow for several Fighting Irish fans.

Although this year's team's numbers are better than last season's 3-9 squad, it still didn't pan out the way Charlie Weis and the Irish had hoped for.

Offensive Statistics

Rushing: 98th (113 ypg)
Passing: 46th (231.4 ypg)
Total Off.: 74th (344 ypg)
Scoring: 85th (22.6)

With some incredible skill position players, specifically at wide receiver and tight end, I'm a little disappointed in the overall numbers, especially the scoring average. Statistically, this football team, inside their opponents 30-yard line, was simply unable to finish.

In the second half of the season they did not get the ball into the endzone. Chances in the red zone frequently turned into field goal attempts. Just too much talent at Notre Dame to have a scoring average ranked at 85th in the country.

Total offense is a very disappointing 74th among the Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The passing offense at 46th is livable, but being ranked 98th in rushing offense completely ruins any chance they have of being efficient offensively. Passing should have been better, especially the way things heated up from the second half of the Michigan State game through the third quarter of North Carolina. Top 25 easily with the receiving corps of Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.

Defense was an area of concern many Irish fans alike had coming into the start of the 2008 campaign. Luckily, they improved drastically from last season.

Defensive Statistics

Rushing: 96th (195 ypg)
Passing: 2nd (161.5 ypg)
Pass Eff.: 22nd (111.78)
Total: 39th (327 ypg)

Notre Dame's pass defense, statistically, ended up very, very solid. You would have to say that is was a decent number when they couldn't get to the opposing quarterback frequently. It could have been a lot worse, as I understand sacks don't take away from the pass defense numbers. But at the same time you're asking a lot from your secondary to cover pretty well when you don't get pressure on the quarterback.

The Irish didn't see many great QB's this season until last week when Southern Cal's Mark Sanchez popped up on the their schedule. I wouldn't qualify Sanchez as a great QB, but a very good one. The defense was indeed shredded at times during the season because they didn't get to the quarterback. And that has to be a point of emphasis next season, as well as, getting a defensive line that can push people around. That will only make it a whole lot easier for the Irish to excel in 2009.

And what happened to this defense that wanted to attack? They blitzed a lot in the early going, but if you noticed they called off the dogs a lot during the second half of the season. Well if you're not going to get there, why take the gamble?

Two other statistics that were glaring was the turnover margin and tackles for losses. The Irish were 84th (-.42) and 112th (4.3 tfl avg.), respectively. That definitely has to change or we'll see some wholesale changes in the football offices.

Speaking of changes, here are the "for certain" candidates that will be seeing pink slips in the near future for the Notre Dame staff:

John Latina (Offensive Line Coach)
Ron Powlus (Quarterback Coach)
Mike Haywood (Offensive Coordinator)
Reuben Mendoza (Strength and Conditioning Coach)

Once these changes will be made with suitable, proven replacements, the Irish tread into the spring with hopes of a better 2009.

For now, there's still some unfinished business to attend to in Houston!

http://www.irishbandofbrothers.blogspot.com

11 Questions Concerning Notre Dame Basketball

Weis Gipper — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:14:37 -0500

With seven games in the book, and the Irish standing at 6-1 with a quality win over Texas and a quality loss to No. 1 North Carolina, here are some burning questions leading into tomorrow's matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes:

Q. Is Notre Dame on pace where they should be right now?

A. Absolutely! They've done everything they were supposed to do. When the schedule came out, you'd figure the Loyola Marymount game was going to be a little easier than what it turned out to be that night out in Los Angeles.

But other than that, they basically have done everything everyone has expected them to do. That's what it is going to make tomorrow so interesting down in Indianapolis, whether Luke Harandogy plays or not, because this is a confident, but young team they will face in Ohio State.

Q. Speaking of Harangody, what's the latest on his status?

A. I'd say if I was a betting man, and which I'm not because I'd finish dead last in all the NCAA Bracket office pools. If I had to make a guess, he will suit up and play tomorrow against the Buckeyes. Before practice yesterday he was shooting around with Ben Hansbrough, whom by the way, hit nine three-pointers in a row. So don't worry folks, this kids shot will be in full swing come next season.

As for Harangody, he's going to take it slow as Mike Brey and the training staff are saying all the right things that it will be a game time decision. I think he has had enough of sitting there and watching those guys have all that fun like the Irish did against South Dakota.

Q. If he does play, will he be at or near 100 percent ?

A. I understand what Coach Brey is saying how they want to take it slow and don't want to rush him back. But look, this is a really good game they need to get, and if Luke Harangody can give them only 13 points and seven rebounds like he did the other night against UNC, which was almost good enough to get the job done; It should definitely be good enough tomorrow.

He'll still have plenty of enough time to rest all of December until Big East play starts New Year's Eve at the AllState Arena against DePaul. So if he can give them something, a little low post presence to give the Buckeyes a little something more to think about, it will be a positive.

Nobody thinks he'll go for 28 points and 15 rebounds or 30 and 18 like he has been doing so far. If he can give this team a few good minutes, that will be good enough to get the victory against Ohio State.

Q. What has this team learned the last two games without Harangody?

A. Actually you could say two and a half games, because of his health condition against North Carolina.

First and foremost, this team knows how to shred a zone defense. Get the ball to Kyle McAlarney, and get the ball to Ryan Ayers.

They've also learned that Tyrone Nash can give this team some good minutes. He has played very well the last two outings, setting career highs in minutes and had nine points and eight rebounds against South Dakota. I know that game was so lopsided so early, but if they can bring a guy like Nash along and give them another body in the low post that can use up five fouls especially in Big East play. That's going to be a real boost for this team.

Q. Can we expect more of the same from Ryan Ayers after he set a career high 35 points?

A. I have always liked Ryan Ayers. He's a great kid, but the bottom line is, just like the case with guys like Luke Zeller and Jonathan Peoples; is that he needs to do this against better competition (Big East competition!). Let's see him six, seven, or eight three-pointers against Pittsburgh or Connecticut or Seton Hall or Louisville, or any other important game where McAlarney maybe be smothered or when Harangody might not be getting it done.

When they needed Ayers big time last week in Maui where he had six points each against Texas and North Carolina, he just didn't get it done. He had a lot of open shots against the Tar Heels in the first half that could have made a big difference in the game.

It's great that he did this against South Dakota, but he needs to step that performance up where they need it along the lines in conference action.

Q. With the emergence of Ayers as a scorer, is there enough basketballs to go around, especially with an All-American (Harangody) and almost All-American (McAlarney)?

A. The way Notre Dame plays they'll get enough possessions to where their should be enough shots to go around. The fact that if Ayers' misses a shot, he goes in a funk, and the next time down the court if he gets an open look he'll hesitate and give the defense enough time to recover. That's when he would kick it down the post to Harangody or swing it around to McAlarney for a better shot.

If Ayers can shoot more like he did the other night, that will give Harangody more confidence where if he is facing a double team in the low post, he doesn't have to just look for Kyle for a shot. Ryan Ayers is almost too nice in the fact that he is the ultimate fit in guy, where he doesn't want to stray from the norm and not take the game over.

Just like Coach Brey said the other night, that he wants Ayers to be an assassin like McAlarney was against North Carolina. If Ayers can do that on a night where one of these guys isn't hitting, this makes this team a lot more difficult to defend.

Q. Is there anything that we've seen after seven games where the Irish can take it to the next level?

A. Not really. It was good the way we saw them against Texas and bring that "A" effort in a game where they were mentally tough. Even when they were down to UNC, they didn't fold in like Michigan State against the Tarheels.

They believed that they belonged on the court with a team like North Carolina, unlike last year against Washington State. ND felt overmatched in every area.

So we've seen glimpses a little bit last week in Maui against Texas and North Carolina, but we won't see how this team differs than last year until Big East play where it really means something.

Q. Are you concerned about the Irish's ability to make free throws, and to make them in clutch situations?

A. Oh absolutely! Coach Brey really hasn't addressed it, and he doesn't want to get it into his team's head. But if they hit free throws that way they did that night in Los Angeles, they're going to lose at least two Big East games down the road and down the wire.

Loyola Marymount was just bad enough to where they didn't know how to capitalize. I don't care who you do that against, but if you do that in a conference game against Seton Hall, Rutgers, or South Florida, those teams will find a way to beat you if you don't make your free throws.

I know Mike Brey doesn't want to address it, but that is a problem area because the Irish are going to get to the line enough where they really need to be one the top free throw shooting teams in the Big East.

Even against Texas, where all you need is one free throw from Harangody or Tory Jackson and they are moving on without any desperation shot from AJ Abrahms that bounced off the front of the rim. You just can't live that dangerously with this team. A college basketball season is too fragile to have to give a team like Texas so many opportunities to win a game like that because you can't do something that is so basic like making a free throw.

Q. Is the Irish pretty much the same defensively like they were a year ago?
A. No, they are not as good defensively. I think they are soft. If you look at the stats against the rest of the Big East teams , Notre Dame is in the bottom three in field-goal-percentage defense and three-point-percentage defense. They give up way too many shots. The South Dakota game the other night was just basically a church league game in the second half where they were giving the Coyotes any three point shot they wanted. And they were knocking down shots, where a 34 point game all of a sudden turned into a 19 point game.

I think defensively this team has some strides to make. Maybe that has to do with the competition they have faced. Maybe it has to do with focus when you're up 20 or up 40 and you really don't need to sting a few stops together. But this team really does need to get a lot better defensively if they want to better last year's team.

Q. What about the other Big East Teams. Are you sold on Louisville being one of the better teams in the conference or the nation?

A. Louisville is not right now. That's historically the way Rick Patino coaches his team. He takes them along slowly and they are a difficult team to figure out right now. If you look at the standings, Syracuse is 8-0, Pittsburgh is 8-0, ND has played seven games, and Louisville is only 2-1. They've played three games and it is December 5th.

So they're starting slowly. Historically Pitno doesn't like his guards, and he wants to throw nine guys off the team because of their practice habits. He hates what he has, and then you look up at the end of February, Louisville has a chance to win the Big East.

Right now they're not the No. 3 team or the No. 13 or whatever they are right now. But by the end of the year they could be a scary team once he figures out what he has and throws it all together and says alright guys this is what it's going to take to be successful. They'll probably be in the top four in the conference with everything is all said and done come March.

Q. If Harangody is in the lineup tomorrow, who is the favorite, and if he's not in the lineup, who's the favorite?

A. You've got to go with Notre Dame in both situations. I think Ohio State has done a lot with that win the other night against No. 21 Miami could go a long way later down the line. But looking at tomorrow in that atmosphere against a veteran team, Ohio State still has eight new faces from last years team and they have never been in this type of atmosphere.

With what ND has seen already in Maui, and even that game against Loyola Marymount because that was one of the toughest games they have had to win on the road. Those three games right there, Notre Dame should really understand what it takes to go in there and take care of business to get a big time victory.

Jack Not-So Nimble: Swarbrick Your Typical Lawyer

Weis Gipper — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:03:57 -0500

In today's South Bend Tribune, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick claimed he did not interview anyone for the head coaching position and that he knew Charlie Weis was still his man to get the Fighting Irish back to the promise land.

Unfortunately for Jack, I've got one word for you: BULLSHIT!

If Mr. Swarbrick knew about these realizations of retaining Weis, why did it take so long to make the announcement?

And indecisiveness was not a factor, Swarbrick insists, in why it took four days after Saturday night's 38-3 waxing by USC to make an announcement. Finding a day when he could meet in person with Weis was a critical step, but not the first.

"The analysis took a lot of time," he said. "I talked to a lot of people. I gathered a lot of information and it had to involve a substantive and lengthy discussion with the coach. You can only do it on the timetable you can do it on. And frankly I'm skeptical that there's any cause and effect between those four days and the decision any recruit makes."

First off, it has become widely documented (ESPN and Irish Illustrated.com) that both Charlie Weis and Jack Swarbrick did, indeed, speak with each other after the Southern Cal game. Weis flat out asked Swarbrick last Sunday if he should be going out hitting the recruiting trail, and was told to do so by the first year athletic director.

If Swarbrick knew he was going to retain him and spoke with Weis, why did he have to wait till December 8th to make any announcement?

Secondly, Swarbrick was quoted as saying he didn't interview anyone. "I didn't do it," he said. "No one representing the university did it. I didn't authorize any intermediary or third party to do it. It just didn't happen."

Interesting, because in that same story in the South Bend Tribune and Irish Illustrated.com both are citing Swarbrick as saying he did contact others.

“…polled resources from across the sporting spectrum, tapping the expertise of sources in the NFL, college football and inside Notre Dame. Swarbrick said the feedback confirmed his preconceptions and let him reach a conclusion before meeting Weis back on campus on Dec. 8.”

So what exactly and who were these sources Jack was trying to gauge from? Why was he out on the West Coast for four days after the Southern Cal game?

If he knew all along, why did he wait so long? It just doesn't make sense to prolong an announcement if he wasn't looking around. Basically Swarbrick is not being truthful about his dealings.

The Burning Questions to Ask Swarbrick

Q. Why did you wait so long?

A. Because he was getting the final word from feelers about their interest in the coaching position.

Q. Why were you on the West Coast for over four days?

A. Is it because Urban Meyer's agent was on the West Coast, and that Boise, Idaho is not too far off the beaten path.

Q. Why did media leak the return of Weis hours after Cincinnati's Brian Kelly was reported as saying he is not interested in other coaching jobs?

A. Because Swarbrick and Jenkins could not land Kelly, as he used ND as a leverage piece to negotiate more to his contract.

Q. Why lie about not looking around and contacting others about the position?

A. Swarbrick didn't want this to affect recruiting, even though it would no matter what the outcome will be. Also he didn't want to reveal that ND was snubbed by a home run candidate (Bob Stoops), a proven winner with an out clause to come to Notre Dame (Urban Meyer), a perfect fit for central casting (Brian Kelly), and a up and coming offensive genius from a Mid-Major (Chris Petersen).

If you look at the big picture of this, Jack Swarbrick is a lawyer through and through. He's a spin doctor and will say anything to not only make himself look good, but show he was supportive of Charlie Weis from the get go.

I hate to break it to ya, but Lawyers lie. Heck they defend criminals, don't they?

At least it would have been a good sign to know that he was going out looking for the best possible coach out there to turn this ship around. It would have shown that he is looking out for the best interest of this program and university.

Instead he stands by a coach who lost to their first 8-loss team, and has the worst 2-year loss total in school history. What makes this worse is the fact that Notre Dame is now third in All-Time wins and is falling fast!

He needed to try something, because Weis is just not getting the job done in developing players and putting a winning program out on the field. Hopefully this is not a sign of Simple Jack's predecessor!

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack is totally full of shit!

To Wait or Not to Wait: The Last 48 Hours Behind Notre Dame Football

Weis Gipper — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:59:15 -0500

Now that Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has publicly announced head football coach Charlie Weis will be back for a fifth season, many fans and alumni alike wondered why not wait until next Monday?

Personally, I didn't have a problem with the university and Swarbrick waiting till Dec. 8 to announce Weis' fate. You have to assume a decision was made or partially made after the Southern Cal game. But with the back-and-forth comments and hearsay of his staying and the athletic department not commenting until today, it makes one wonder.

Why was Swarbrick still on the West Coast? And what business does he have over there? Better yet, is Boise, Idaho, considered West Coast? We'll get to that in a little bit.

I will say this, I think it was very important that the university needed to keep this week as normal as possible. And I say this for a couple of reasons.

No. 1, this Friday is the annual football banquet. I think it's a little disrespectful to the senior class if something had happened to coach Weis' future in South Bend. Remember a couple of years ago during the last coaching change, and they cancelled the football banquet? That would really be unfair to the seniors who put four or five years of service here. They gave up a lot of sweat and blood for the Lady on the Dome. The least they could do is be honored by the university at this banquet. Luckily, the show will go on.

Another importance of this week deals with the recruiting of high school juniors. According to former Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Bob Chimel, you want to make sure the junior recruiting gets off to a solid start or continue to progress well. So that's very, very important for the Irish right now.

Waiting till this coming Monday also allowed Swarbrick and Fr. Jenkins to go out and look around a little bit. You can make some secondary connections with people if they felt the need to look and see who the next head coach might be. Then they could have talked to a friend of a friend and work around bothering a coach who is still very active.

I will say this; I didn't have a problem waiting till this Monday because there was still some good coaches if Notre Dame did want to make a change that were still very busy in conference championships or finishing up their regular season. Heck, many criticized Washington for taking Mike Haywood out of his element during a practice week to interview for the Husky vacancy.

So if Swarbrick and Jenkins waited a few more days when all the games were played and the bowl bids were handed out, then they could have had a few days to do some serious talking over the weekend. They could have talked to one or two coaches on a Saturday night or Sunday morning because their regular season or conference championship game was done, and they wouldn't have to worry about affecting some other team's preparation for a big contest.

You know Weis gets paid very well, and if something had changed and he didn't come back, he would have been taken care of financially. So the week's worth of effort he did on the road recruiting would have been made up nicely in a financial settlement to the tune of $20 million dollars.

Lastly, there's nothing wrong with looking around the landscape of college football and seeing who the top coaches are, and if there is any mutual interest in the Notre Dame program. If there was a coach out there that Swarbrick and Jenkins wanted to talk to, this would have been the prime time to do so because they could have contacted those individuals one-on-one than through secondary people.

Swarbrick has had a Plan A, Plan B, and a Plan C for quite some time now after it was evident when Weis' team was regressing. After the Boston College game, Swarbrick asked Fr. Jenkins permission to get some feelers on replacements for coach Weis. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden and his agent did place a call to Swarbrick's office, but that talk was brief and didn't have much substance.

Most of the behind the scenes work was done the last two weeks and, most recently, the last 48 hours.

Timeline

Nov. 22

Notre Dame loses to Syracuse 24-23. Swarbrick dodges media questions.

Nov. 24

Swarbrick makes call to the University of Oklahoma. Sooners Coach Bob Stoops tells Swarbrick he's comfortable in Norman.

Nov. 25

Swarbrick places calls to the University Florida and the University of Cincinnati to speak with coaches Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly.

Nov. 28

Meyer and agent would only speak with Swarbrick and Jenkins' after the SEC Championship game.

Nov. 29

Notre Dame loses to Southern Cal 38-3. Swarbrick tells media that he'll talk with Weis about his future on Monday, Dec. 8.

Nov. 30

Weis asks Swarbrick if he should go out recruiting, and Swarbrick tells him yes. Meyer and agent tell Swarbrick he's staying put in Gainesville.

Brian Kelly and agent talk with Swarbrick and Jenkins' via phone conference and discuss possibilities.

Dec. 1

Swarbrick calls Boise State to speak with Head Coach Chris Petersen. Petersen's agent calls Swarbrick that there's no interest.

Dec. 2

Kelly leverages with UC administration and trustees for more incentives for their football program and scoffs at Swarbrick's and Jenkins initial figure.

Media reports hit wire of Kelly's statement of not interested in any jobs and is staying as Bearcats head coach.

Swarbrick and Jenkins meet with Weis in California to let him know that he's being retained for another year and that they will discuss changes within in the program early next week.

Swarbrick calls associate AD John Heisler to let him and the Sports Information Department that Weis will be back next season.

WNDU-TV Sports Director Jeff Jeffers and IrishEyes.com's Mike Frank get calls from the ND SID Office of Weis' return.

Dec. 3

Notre Dame's Jack Swarbrick releases official statement of Weis' return as head coach next season.

As you can see this has been a whirlwind of events for the Notre Dame football program. I, personally, don't mind seeing the aggressiveness of new Swarbrick getting information and testing the waters with several top notch coaches. If it panned out, the incoming coach would have had some nice foundation to work with because of Weis' recruiting efforts.

On the flip side, what can you say about stability? It's good to see that Weis will get at least one more year to right this ship. Changes will indeed be made as the Irish will be shopping for a new offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, quarterbacks coach, strength/conditioning coach, and most likely a special teams coach, after this holiday bowl season.

Parameters will be established next week for Weis or this will definitely be his last hurrah in South Bend. So fans of Weis, I leave you with this little ditty by one of my favorite '80s groups, Crowded House.

Notre Dame-South Dakota Basketball: Irish Should Handle First-Year Div. I Foe

Weis Gipper — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:14:14 -0500

Game Seven: South Dakota (3-4) at No. 7 Notre Dame (5-1)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 2
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EST)

Despite not having the services of Luke Harangody for the second straight contest, Notre Dame should not have too much trouble with first-year Division I foe South Dakota.

As was the case on Sunday against Furman, the Fighting Irish will have to rough it for at least one more night as Harangody is still battling the effects of pneumonia. It showed during the first 14 minutes of the contest before Kyle McAlarney started heating up where he left off in Hawaii. The senior guard almost broke his 3-point FG mark as he connecting on nine in 28 minutes of action. He finished the game with 32 points.

South Dakota like to play an uptempo game as they average 74.7 points a contest, which plays into the hands of the Irish. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, they can not hold their opponents either. They are giving up 72.7 points, 42.8 percent shooting, and 38.5 percent three-point shooting their opposition on average.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, is playing at midseason form behind the sharp shooting of McAlarney, the toughness of Harangody and Zach Hillesland, and the steady play of guard Tory Jackson.

Currently the Irish rank high nationally in several categories:

1st Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (1.9)
6th Turnovers (9.8)
15th Assists (18.7)
17th Scoring (84.7)
27th 3PT FG (40.4%)

This one should be over very quickly, as coach Mike Brey will empty his bench and give quality minutes to guys like Tim Abromitis, Tyrone Nash, and Carleton Scott. Anything less than a 30-point victory will be disappointing.

South Dakota Coyotes Breakdown

Head Coach

Dave Boots (538-226), 21st season

Last Season

22-7 in Division II

Strengths

The Coyotes do have a strong nucleus back from their 22-7 squad of a season ago. South Dakota starts three seniors, a junior and one freshmen.

Junior forward Tyler Cain provides the scoring and muscle for the Coyotes. He has three double-doubles so far this season and had 16 last season for South Dakota.

Weaknesses

Entering their first season of Division I basketball, South Dakota is going to experience a few bumps and bruises. The talent level will be quite noticeable when they face bigger squads.

Projected Starters

South Dakota

C Steve Smith 8.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg
F Tyle Cain 16.1 ppg, 11.1 rpg
F Dylan Grimsley 11.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg
G Jesse Becker 12.6 ppg, 3.6 apg
G Louie Krogman 15.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Notre Dame

F Zach Hillesland 6.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg
F Luke Zeller 7.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg
G Ryan Ayers 10.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg
G Tory Jackson 14.3 ppg, 5.7 apg
G Kyle McAlarney 19.7 ppg, 3.8 apg

Notre Dame's Postseason Destination Still Uncertain

Weis Gipper — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:54:29 -0500

What a long strange trip it has been this season for the Fighting Irish as they came away even at 6-6 for the 2008 campaign. Other than who will be Notre Dame's head coach next season, the question now is where will the Irish be playing this postseason?

Sun Bowl (Dec. 31st)
This game will be signed, sealed, and delivered, if Louisville beats Rutgers this Thursday night. Currently the Scarlet Knights are a 10 and a half point favorites at home.

Possible Sun Bowl Opponent: Oregon State (8-4)
This is definitely not a matchup any Irish fan or alum wants to see Notre Dame play. All oneself has to do is remember the Fiesta Bowl and the Insight.com Bowl with the Beavers.

Texas Bowl (Dec. 30th)
This Houston-based bowl game will not be a fan favorite either because this contest will be aired by the NFL Network. Unless you are a subscriber to this channel, most Irish fans will be watching this game at their local sports bars!

Possible Texas Bowl Opponent: Rice (9-3) or Houston (7-5)
Whichever squad the Irish could possibly face in this game will definitely have the backing of the home crowd as both schools are just a stone's throw away from Reliant Stadium.

Both Rice and Houston are two of highest scoring teams in the nation averaging a little over 41 points per game. Houston has the second-best offense in the country with a 575 yard output, while Rice is 10th averaging 472 yards. The Owls also have one of the better receiving tandems in Division I in Jarrett Dillard (102 ypg) and James Casey (101 ypg).

So if the Texas Bowl becomes a reality, the Irish could have their hands full with these explosive offenses.

Independence Bowl (Dec. 28th)
There are a lot better places to spend your holidays than Shreveport, Louisiana, but this game could be the streak breaker if the Irish land there.

Possible Independence Bowl Opponent: Louisiana Tech (7-5) or UL-Lafayette (5-6)
Both the Ragin' Cajuns and Bulldogs are a run first team as they rank 5th (273 ypg) and 27th (195 ypg) nationally. On the flip side, both squads are giving up a lot of yardage to their opponents. Louisiana-Lafayette is yielding 431 yards, while Louisiana Tech is giving up 379 yards.

If there's anything close to a sure bet win, place your money on the Irish if they go to Shreveport.

Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24th)
The most ideal vacation spot could be the most hostile environment. Notre Dame has not been on the Island since Bob Davie's first season as head coach, and the Irish barely survived.

Possible Hawaii Bowl Opponent: Hawaii (7-5)
The Warriors are not potent as they were when they had Colt Brennan and June Jones running the show, but are still and dangerous squad when they play at home. Would it be worth the price to play in paradise for such a risky bowl game? that's the three-quarter million dollar question the Irish could be asking themselves.

Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 23rd)
Another beautiful vacation spot (San Deigo) with a lot of bad scenarios for the Irish.

Possible Poinsettia Bowl Opponent: BYU (10-2)
Once considered a BCS buster, BYU is settling for Poinsettia Bowl appearance which doesn't make the Cougars much happy one bit. Besides playing a squad that feels jolted in not playing a better bowl, the Cougars are a dangerous team that the Irish would have a hard time with.

This is the most likely of destinations for the Irish, and definitely one of the worst matchups for the Notre Dame.

Notre Dame-Southern Cal: Tale of the Tape

Weis Gipper — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:50:55 -0500

The fifth-ranked USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish hook up for the 80th time on the gridiron this weekend, as they clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

With a 9-1 overall mark and a lofty ranking, the Trojans are very much alive for the national title race, although they are going to need some help down the stretch. Since losing its only game to Oregon State in late September, the Trojans have ripped off seven straight victories, posting three shutouts during that stretch. The program was last in play on Nov. 15, when it defeated Stanford 45-23 on the road.

"I was happy we got the win tonight," stated head coach Pete Carroll. "I was really happy to win this game."

The victory exacted some measure of revenge for when Stanford pulled off one of the biggest upsets ever with a 24-23 victory at USC last season. The Trojans now head back home, where they have won 27 straight night games and are 26-0 in November under Carroll.

As for Notre Dame, it has fallen apart down the stretch and may have hit rock bottom last weekend with a shocking 24-23 setback at home to lowly Syracuse. It was the third loss in the past four outings by the Irish, which dipped to 6-5 overall. The team hasn't had much success on the road either, boasting just a 1-3 mark on the year.

ND and USC are meeting for the 80th time this weekend in one of the premier inter-sectional rivalries in college football. The Irish lead the head-to-head series, 42-32-5, but the Trojans have won the last six meetings. Last season USC blanked ND, 38-0, delivering the program its most decisive win ever in the series.

The Irish has been up and down on offense all season long and enter the weekend averaging a modest 24.5 ppg and 367.9 total ypg. The unit has had more success through the air (248.7 ypg) than on the ground (119.2 ypg), but has had some issues hanging onto the ball, committing 25 turnovers.

Despite avoiding any turnovers last weekend, ND wasn't able to defeat Syracuse behind its 332 yards of total offense. Jimmy Clausen guided the team in the loss by throwing for 291 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-39 tosses. Like the rest of the offense, though, Clausen has struggled with consistency this season and has thrown for 2,730 yards and 20 scores, but with 15 interceptions as well.

With Michael Floyd out for the season with a knee injury, Golden Tate is now the team's top option in the passing game, and he showed off his skills by making seven catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns last weekend. It was a great effort from Tate, who paces the squad with 50 catches for 888 yards and seven scores on the year.

Armando Allen is the team's top runner with 569 yards, and he also ranks third on the team with 45 catches out of the backfield.

ND has been pretty solid on defense this season and is holding its opponents to 20.8 ppg and 316.5 total ypg. The Irish is limiting foes to 139.7 rushing ypg and 176.7 passing ypg, while generating 20 turnovers.

Last weekend, ND's defense was stout until the fourth quarter, when it allowed Syracuse to score a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner with 42 seconds left. Both scores came on drives of 68 yards, as Syracuse posted a majority of its 317 total yards in the final period. ND came up with a pair of sacks and two turnovers, but the defense couldn't make the big play when it needed to most.

Kyle McCarthy finished the contest with six tackles, giving him 96 on the year, and that is good enough for the team lead.

The Trojans have excelled on both sides of the ball this season, and on offense they are scoring 38.4 ppg and gaining 451.0 total ypg. The offense has displayed good balance between the run (208.8 ypg) and pass (242.2 ypg) and is converting 45 percent of the time on third down.

In its last game, USC racked up 418 total yards, including 282 on the ground, in a victory over Stanford. Stafon Johnson led the charge with 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries, while C.J. Gable went for 85 yards and a score on the same number of attempts. The duo have been a nice complement to one another and have combined for 1,143 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez also got involved in the win over Stanford, throwing for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-17 tosses. It was a modest performance by Sanchez, who has flourished this season, converting 64.8 percent of his pass attempts for 2,258 yards, with 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Damian Williams has been one of the top targets in the passing game with 38 catches for 553 yards, while Patrick Tuner has posted 503 yards and a team-best eight scores. Against Stanford, Williams led the team with four catches, including one for a touchdown.

While USC's offense has certainly been prolific, it takes a back seat to the defense, which leads the nation in scoring (8.3 ppg) and ranks second in total yards (225.5 ypg). The Trojans lead the nation in pass defense, allowing just 132.3 ypg, and they have been every bit as good against the run, yielding a mere 90.2 ypg.

Last game, however, USC wasn't as dominant as expected, allowing Stanford to gain 367 total yards, including 202 on the ground. The Trojans, though, made some adjustments at the half and allowed just six points after the break in the 45-23 triumph.

"Defensively, the guys came through and just stopped them series after series after series, and it wasn't like that early on," stated Carroll.

Rey Maualuga led the way with nine tackles, while Brian Cushing had six stops and his first pick of the season. On the year, Maualuga tops the roster with 66 tackles, and Cushing ranks second to him with 60 stops.

The Trojans are the clear choice here, as their offense and defense are far superior, and they should have a relatively easy time blowing this one open early.

Southern Cal 41
Notre Dame 10

Southern Cal Injury Report

RB Broderick Green (11/10, personal) has decided to transfer
DB Kevin Ellison (10/31, right knee surgery) is expected to miss 2-4 weeks
LB Luthur Brown (11/23, separated shoulder) is questionable
RB Allen Bradford (10/17, hip surgery) will miss the remainder of the season
DB Shareece Wright (9/23, fractured vertebrae) is out indefinitely
OL Michael Reardon (8/14, right hip) is out indefinitely

Notre Dame Injury Report

DB Terrail Lambert (11/23, sprained ankle) is questionable
WR Michael Floyd (11/17, knee) to miss the remainder of the regular season
OL Chris Stewart (11/23, leg) is questionable
FB Luke Schmidt (10/1, headaches) is out indefinitely
TE Will Yeatman (10/1, disciplinary/legal) will miss the remainder of the season
DB Jashaad Gaines (9/12, personal) is out indefinitely
TE Mike Ragone (8/23, left knee surgery) will miss the entire season

Team Leaders

Receptions: Williams (38), ND Tate (50)
Rec. Yards: Williams (553), ND Tate (888)
Rushing Atts: S. Johnson (102), ND Allen (127)
Rushing Yds: Gable (574), ND Allen (569)
Pass Atts: Sanchez (267), ND Clausen (392)
Pass Comp: Sanchez (173), ND Clausen (235)
Pass Yards: (2,258), ND Clausen (2,730)
Comp %: Mustain (69.2), ND Clausen (59.9)
TD passes: Sanchez (26), ND Clausen (20)
INTs: Sanchez (7), ND Clausen (15)

Notre Dame Vs North Carolina Game Preview

Weis Gipper — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:23:09 -0500

Game 5: No. 8 Notre Dame (4-0) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (5-0)
Date: Wednesday, November 26
Time: 10:00 p.m. (E.S.T.)

Tonight's Maui Invitational Championship game between Notre Dame and North Carolina has a definite March feel to it, as two of the top teams go head-to-head in what should be a marquee classic.

Notre Dame has made well so far of bringing home some hardware with an exciting 81-80 victory over No. 6 Texas last night.

If the Fighting Irish want to make their wish into a reality, they will have to play a near flawless game and have a few others step up besides Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney. Guard Tory Jackson has put together a string of superb games that could help combat the Tar Heels defense.

North Carolina is outscoring their opponents by 25 points, while holding them to 39.6 percent shooting, including 32.8 percent from 3-point range. The Tar Heels have all five starters averaging double figures in scoring, led by forward Danny Green. UNC also got back the services of All-American Tyler Hansbrough.

Hansbrough has been slowed recently with shin problems, but should be serviceable against the Irish. The Maui crowd will also have a treat, as two of the best players in the nation will go toe-to-toe in Hansbrough and Harangody.

Notre Dame is continuing its unselfish play, dishing 17.5 assists per night, with Jackson leading the way with 5.7. The Irish are also starting to light it up at the right time as they are connecting on 47.9 percent of their field goals, and 40 percent of their shots behind the 3-point arc.

The two keys for the Irish tonight will be, first, to improve their free throw shooting (59.5 percent on the season), and second, dictate the tempo of this contest. Notre Dame can ill afford to get into a track meet with the more athletic Tar Heels. Plus they have a lot more horses in the stable.

North Carolina Tarheels
Head Coach: Roy Williams (career 560-134); sixth year at North Carolina (142-33)

Last Season: 36-3 overall, 14-2 in the ACC; lost in the semifinals of the Final Four

STRENGTHS
The Tar Heels have it all. Strength in the middle, solid shooting on the perimeter, pressure defense, speed, and a solid point guard. All five starters—Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Marcus Ginyard, Deon Thompson, and Tyler Hansbrough—return.

—They also have depth with two key backups in Danny Green and Bobby Frasor returning and some talented recruits being added to the roster. Green can be instant offense off the bench and gives the Heels another 3-point threat to go along with Elllington. A talented freshman class makes the Heels even deeper.

WEAKNESSES
Since Hansbrough is back into the UNC lineup, if a team can neutralize him inside and take advantage of his weaknesses on defense, it can give the Heels trouble. Kansas jumped on the Heels early in their NCAA Tournament matchup and had the game out of hand by halftime. That won't happen again.

—Ellington can be off at times with his 3-pointer, and that also makes the Heels beatable.

Projected Starters

North Carolina
F Danny Green 15.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg
F Deon Thompson 14.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg
F Tyler Hansbrough 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg
G Ty Lawson 13.6 ppg, 5.6 apg
G Wayne Ellington 14.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg

Notre Dame
F Zach Hillesland 6.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg
F Luke Harangody 25.0 ppg, 12.3 rpg
G Ryan Ayers 8.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
G Tory Jackson 14.8 ppg, 5.7 apg
G Kyle McAlarney 11.8 ppg, 3.7 apg

Notre Dame-Texas Preview: Irish Face Stiffer Challenge Against Longhorns

Weis Gipper — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:20:49 -0500

Game Four: No. 8 Notre Dame (3-0) vs. No. 6 Texas (3-0)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 25
Time: 7:00 (E.S.T.)

One down, two more to go, as the Fighting Irish could face two Top 10 teams in back-to-back nights, starting today with No. 6 Texas. Notre Dame kicked off their Maui Invitational on the right side of the bracket with an 88-50 trouncing of intra-state rival Indiana. Unfortunately for the Irish, things won't be that easy against the Longhorns.

Texas has held their opposition to 46.3 points per game and combined 28.9 percent FG shooting, including 14-of-64 (.219) mark from three-point range. Led by guard A.J. Abrams, the Longhorns will try to pressure the Irish up and down the court.

The 3-0 Irish are looking to become 4-0 for the first time since the 2002-2003 season, and they will have to get strong outside production from Kyle McAlarney, Ryan Ayers, and Luke Zeller.

Against the Hoosiers, McAlarney got out of his shooting slump and connected on six three-point baskets for 18 points. Zeller is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc and scoring a career-best 11.0 points a game.

Texas isn't the only team that can play defense! The Irish are holding their opponents to 36.4 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from three-point range. Notre Dame is also outmuscling their opposition with a plus-11 rebound margin. Led by Tory Jackson, the Irish are creating lots of pressure, forcing 16.7 turnovers and 10 steals a game.

The key for the Irish tonight will be how well Zach Hillesland can contain Texas star Damion James. On the flip side, the Longhorns have to stop Luke Harangody from dominating in the paint.

This will definitely be a high-scoring affair, with the winner booking a possible date with top-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday.

Texas Longhorns

Head Coach: Rick Barnes (career 449-227); 11th year at Texas (247-93)

Last Season: 31-7 overall, 13-3 in the Big 12; lost in the regional finals of NCAA Tournament

STRENGTHS

Few Big 12 teams, if any, return as much talent as Texas. F Damion James is as strong as anyone in the conference underneath after averaging a double-double (13.2 points, 10.3 rebounds) last season. The Longhorns also have great pop outside with G A.J. Abrams, who already holds the Texas career record for three-pointers.

Additional experience abounds both inside with F Connor Atchley and C Dexter Pittman, and along the perimeter with G Justin Mason and G Dogus Balbay.

WEAKNESSES

There's usually a catch these days when addressing experience on college basketball teams. For Texas, it was the loss of PG D.J. Augustin, who left early and was a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. Without its distributor, who influenced the pace of games as well as perhaps anyone in the country, Texas faces a tall task.

Abrams, who senses he needs to play the point to make it in the NBA at 5'11", will get first crack. Mason does have some experience at the position.

Projected Starters

Texas

C Dexter Pittman 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
F Connor Atchley 4.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F Damion James 14.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
G A.J. Abrams 17.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg
G Justin Mason 3.7 ppg 4.0 rpg

Notre Dame

F Zach Hillesland 6.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg
F Luke Harangody 23.7 ppg, 12.0 rpg
G Ryan Ayers 9.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg
G Tory Jackson 11.3 ppg, 4.3 apg
G Kyle McAlarney 9.3 ppg, 5.3 apg

Notre Dame-USC: Keys to the Game

Weis Gipper — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:15:31 -0500

David vs. Goliath, Rocky vs. everyone he faced in all of his six or seven movies, and now this weekend; Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal.

At 6-5, the Fighting Irish are searching for some divine intervention against the 30-point favorites.

Notre Dame, last Saturday, let another win slip through their fingers as they lost to their first eight-loss team in history against Syracuse 24-23. The Orange only scored two, fourth-quarter touchdowns all season long. But against the Irish, they strung together two scoring drives, including the game winner with less than a minute to play.

Southern Cal has been basically on cruise control after their early-season hiccup at Oregon State. The Trojans have been outscoring their opponents to a tune of 39-6. That doesn't bode well for the Irish, especially a struggling Irish squad that has dropped four of their last six contests.

1.) Brush up on their history. There have been instant classics between the Irish and Trojans, and this team has lost sight of how important this series really was and still is for both schools. Below are some great Irish moments:

Oct. 16, 1999
Notre Dame 25, USC 24
Notre Dame Stadium

Twenty-five years after USC staged "The Comeback," Notre Dame got a little revenge of its own on its West Coast rivals with the biggest comeback in Notre Dame Stadium history. Trailing 24-3 in the third quarter, the luck of the Irish helped ND secure the win. No more was that evident than the game-winning score when tight end Jabari Holloway won the scrum for Jarious Jackson's fumble in the end zone with 2:40 remaining.

Nov. 29, 1988
No. 1 Notre Dame 27, No. 2 USC 10
The Coliseum
In the only No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting in the series, Lou Holtz elected to leave two of his top players at home, tailback Tony Brooks and flanker Ricky Watters. The Irish responded with a win that propelled them to their first national title in 11 years. Tony Rice hit Raghib Ismail with a 55-yard TD strike to start the game. Rice then called his own number on an option play down the left sideline and sprinted 65 yards for the score. Stan Smagala's 64-yard interception return for a touchdown of a Rodney Peete pass put the game out of reach as Notre Dame took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

Nov. 29, 1986
Notre Dame 38, No. 17 USC 37
The Coliseum
Lou Holtz's first foray into the Notre Dame-USC rivalry was a successful one, as the Irish rallied back from a 20-9 halftime deficit. They trailed 30-12 early in the third quarter before Steve Beuerlein started hitting his stride. He hit Braxston Banks with a 22-yard TD pass, Milt Jackson for 43 yards and Banks for five yards to cut it to 37-35. Tim Brown's 56-yard punt return then put John Carney in position to cap the comeback with a 19-yard field goal with two seconds left.

October 22, 1977
No. 11 Notre Dame 49, No. 5 USC 19
Notre Dame Stadium
"The Switch."

The Irish warmed up in their traditional blue jerseys. But before the start of the game, Devine handed out the school's treasured green jerseys for the first time in 14 years. Led by Joe Montana, who threw two TD passes and ran for two more, the Irish proceeded to rout the Trojans 49-19.

October 27, 1973
No. 8 Notre Dame 23, No. 6 USC 14
Notre Dame Stadium
Anthony Davis' six-touchdown afternoon in 1972 was in the minds of many Irish when they met again in 1973. On a rainy day in South Bend, the Irish held Davis to just 55 yards on 19 carries. It was Notre Dame's Eric Perrick who had the big day, as Perrick's 85-yard TD run early in the third quarter keyed the Irish's 23-14 upset of the Trojans, who entered the game on a 23-game unbeaten streak.

Dec. 6, 1947
No. 1 Notre Dame 38, No. 3 USC
The Coliseum
In a game that would decide the national championship, the battle lasted for one half with the Irish holding a slim 10-7 lead. Emil Sitko broke the game opened with a 76 yard TD run to open the second half. Bob Livingstone followed with a 92 yard score. John Panelli added a touchdown, and it was all over for USC.

2.) Go no huddle, two minute offense. What's there to lose, right? The most consistent the Irish have looked all season long is when Notre Dame decides to speed up the game going no huddle in shotgun formation. I'm not sure if Clausen just excels in those situations or not, but he does look more confident and comfortable in that scenario.

Having an injured Michael Floyd hurts in this situation, as the Trojans' No. 1 pass defense will smother Golden Tate. This is where David Grimes, Robby Parris, and most importantly, Duval Kamara have to step up and make plays. Kamara has regressed this season and could jump back in a major way with a big game.

3.) Rely on your corners. Notre Dame's defense did not show up last week when they were counted on the most. Corwin Brown and Jon Tenuta will have to pull out everything they've got against the Trojans, with plenty of pressure and blitzes. So that means the Irish corners will be left alone on an island to defend themselves.

If the ND pressure does get to Mark Sanchez in a timely fashion, players like Robert Blanton, Raeshon McNeil, Gary Gray, and Terrail Lambert will have only minimal time to lock down on the USC receivers.

Yes, that's a tall order to ask, but Notre Dame's defense has played well against the pass statistical-wise. The Irish are 22nd in the nation, yielding only 176 yards and 10 touchdowns.

4.) Maximize the clock with long sustained drives. If the Irish have any chance of making this a game, they will have to string together double-digit drives that eats a lot of the clock. Stanford did a fairly good job of that in the first half of their contest with Southern Cal, but collapsed towards the end of the contest.

Look for a bevy of screen passes to Armando Allen and some short hitch and slant routes to Grimes, Tate, and Kamara. Don't expect Clausen and the Irish to throw anything over 25 yards.

5.) Play with heart for the Blue & Gold. Last week there was no emotion whatsoever. It was Senior Day, students were pelting them with snowballs, and still nothing. They need to go out there on Saturday night and show to everyone, including themselves that they have some pride left in them and won't back down against the mighty Trojans.

Maybe Chuck can use these words of wisdom for his team:

Well, boys ... I haven't a thing to say.
Played a better season than last...all of you. Better season.

I guess we just can't expect to win ‘em all.

I'm going to tell you something I've kept to myself for years -
None of you ever witnessed a National Championship Team.
It was long before your time.
But you know what a tradition they are at Notre Dame...

And the last thing they said to me -- "Weisgipper," they said -
"sometime, when the team is up against it -- and the
breaks are beating the boys -- tell them to go out there
with all they got and win just one for the Lady on the Dome...

I don't know where I'll be then, Weisgipper", he said -"but
I'll know about it - and I'll be happy."

Notre Dame-Indiana: Basketball Preview

Weis Gipper — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:02:53 -0500

Game 3: No. 8 Notre Dame (2-0) vs. Indiana (2-0)
Date: Monday, Nov. 24
Time: 5:30 EST

It has taken several years and thousands of miles, but Notre Dame and Indiana will resume their intrastate rivalry today in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Hawaii.

Coming off a lackluster performance against a young Loyola Marymount squad last Friday night, the Fighting Irish look to come out strong and play a fast-paced high scoring game against the young Hoosiers.

If Notre Dame wants to stay undefeated and extend their winning streak to two over the Hoosiers, the Irish will have to create some clean, open looks for senior guard Kyle McAlarney.

McAlarney was held scoreless for only the second time in his Irish career as he was 0-for-7 from the floor against the Lions.

The Irish, once again, were led by preseason All-American Luke Harangody. He finished the night with another double-double of 27 points and 17 rebounds. Tory Jackson also gave Notre Dame some added scoring punch with 16 points and seven boards.

Ryan Ayers had nine points, while Luke Zeller finished with six.

One area of concern that Notre Dame concentrated on after landing in Maui was their free throw shooting. Against LMU, the Irish shot 59.4 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-22) that kept the host Lions in the contest up until the end.

ND will have to be more successful or the Hoosiers could spring an early season upset under first-year head coach Tom Crean.

Crean and his staff will put one of the least experienced teams in NCAA Division I history on the floor against the Irish.

Senior Kyle Taber (28 points) and sophomore walk-on Brett Finkelmeier (2 points) are all that return from last year’s 25-8 squad which advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Indiana will take the floor with seven new scholarship players, an outfielder from the baseball team and three additional walk-ons to start the season with Taber and Finkelmeier during the first semester.

So far the Hoosiers have beaten Northwestern St. (La.) 83-65 and eked out a win over IUPUI, 60-57.

A trouble area the Irish will like to exploit against the Hoosiers will be the inside muscle of Harangody and Zach Hillesland.

Indiana so far has been out rebounded by their opponents and prone to many mistakes. The Hoosiers are averaging 18.5 turnovers this young season.

Look for the Irish to dictate and push the tempo early and pound the ball inside to Harangody. McAlarney should get some points, while Jackson will penetrate and dish to the open man.

Keep a watchful eye out for Luke Zeller to have a big night against his home-state team. This is also the type of game where Zach Hillesland could do some damage.

I expect this to be a close battle for a while, but the Irish just have too much experience and star power for the young Hoosiers to handle. A 20-something point win is not out of the question.

Indiana Hoosiers

Head Coach: Tom Crean (career 190-96); first year at Indiana

Last Season: 25-8 overall, 14-4 in the Big Ten; lost in the 1st RD of NCAA tournament

STRENGTHS
Finding enthusiasm won't be a problem for the Hoosiers this season. Crean is a font of bubbly excitement at all times, and the new Hoosiers are hyped to start the season and begin carving a legacy at Indiana.

This is a team that has quickly grown exceptionally close, mainly because all the new faces make for a group that finds itself in the same boat. There aren't separate groups of friends on the team, because there hasn't been time for such relationships to develop.

--On the court, Indiana will be blessed with plenty of depth, as Crean looks to fit as many pieces into the puzzle as possible. IU will feature a lot of versatility, especially on the wings, and Indiana hopes to play tight, harassing defense that creates a lot of turnovers.

--Indiana also figures to be a quality three-point shooting team, and the Hoosiers should play at a higher tempo than most other Big Ten teams.

--Crean figures to make substitutions early and often; keeping a fresh set of legs on the court at all times will be one of his goals. He knows his team has a lot of obstacles to overcome this year, but he will push his ballclub to squeeze every ounce of talent out of itself.

WEAKNESSES

The biggest problem with having eight freshmen on the roster is that there are, well, eight freshmen on the roster. Inconsistency figures to be a nightly issue for the Hoosiers.

The newcomers are talented, but even Crean doesn't know how they will react to big-time college basketball, especially when they go on the road in the Big Ten.

Finding a leader among the kids will be a challenge as well. Junior Jeremiah Rivers is the most likely candidate to emerge in that role, but the transfer from Georgetown isn't eligible to play this season and can only help in practice.

--A lack of size will be the Hoosiers' biggest concern on the court. Indiana features just three players 6-8 or taller, and one of those athletes, 7-0 Tijan Jobe, is a project with a capital "P."

Indiana hopes Taber can make a bigger impact than he did last season, when he averaged 2.5 rebounds in 11.2 minutes a game. Taber wasn't asked to produce much in the way of stats last season.

His main role was to do the little things and not make mistakes on defense. This year, Taber won't be asked to do anything he can't do, but Crean does hope he gets more production out of his only senior.

--Pritchard has plenty of potential, but he's not the most athletic player on the roster and is still developing as a scorer. Indiana will count on Story, a 6-5, 220-plus pound swingman, to help the big men from the power forward position.

--Indiana also must establish a go-to guy and hope the team's chemistry continues to stay strong once players start to get into game situations. The Hoosiers can't afford any jealousies or friction between the players this year.

Projected Starters

Indiana
F Tom Pritchard 16.0 ppg, 10 rpg
F Kyle Taber 4.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg
G Verdell Jones III 10.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
G Nick Williams 8.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg
G Devan Dumes 15.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Notre Dame
F Zach Hillesland 8.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg
F Luke Harangody 28.5 ppg, 15.5 rpg
G Ryan Ayers 8.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
G Tory Jackson 11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg
G Kyle McAlarney 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg

OMG, ND Is Becoming The Chicago Cubs of College Football

Weis Gipper — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:29:33 -0500

Hi, I'm weisgipper, and I'm a Charlie Weis apologist!

For almost four seasons I've watched Weis lead the Fighting Irish from almost the top of the mountain to the pits of hell. I have made countless and repeatedly excuses as to why you should remain as coach:

1.) First two seasons at the helm leading the Irish to BCS Bowl appearances, and 2.) Superb recruiting classes. After Saturday's 24-23 loss to then 2-8 Syracuse, I've decided to put down and stop drinking the Weis Kool-Aid.

At the beginning of his tenure, Weis was shattering Notre Dame records left and right. Unfortunately, he's still making the Irish record books for all the wrong reasons.

After Saturday's debacle, Weis' squad became the first Notre Dame team to lose to an eight-loss opponent ever in Fighting Irish Football history! And to top that off, the Irish's 14 loss total in two years is the most ever in that time frame. If you think that is bad, just wait for this doozie.

Notre Dame is now currently tied with Texas for second in all-time wins in college football.

After this weekend, the Irish will be in third place, and it will most likely fall down further with others creeping up very slowly. Nebraska is nipping on the Irish's heels; and excuse me for puking in my mouth, but Ohio State could surpass ND in a few short years if we don't nip this thing in the bud soon.

Notre Dame has been the pinnacle of college football with all of its steep tradition, winning teams, winning coaches, Heisman Trophy winners, and of course their National Championships.

We Are ND, the New York Yankees of college football, right? Lately the Fighting Irish have become the laughing stock of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Every fan, student, and alum are asking themselves, "How can Notre Dame become a consistent power in College Football?"

The Board of Trustees, the administration, and the athletic director need to sit down and hammer this out now.

First off, they need to address their priorities. Do they want to succeed in football, or do they want to become the loveable losers like the Chicago Cubs? Just as Lou Holtz said on ESPN Saturday night, does ND want to be a 6-6, 7-5 team, or do they want to contend for National Championships? Just tell us, so we can move on.

Once they have established the purpose of the football program, next they need to set up backup plans and have lists of what and who is going to lead them to this next level.

We've already heard and seen on national television of Jack Swarbrick's endorsement of Weis. Does that necessarily mean he actually believes that? Not sure, because look what San Diego State has done with Chuck Long.

A few weeks ago, SDSU's athletic director said that Long is their guy and will be remaining as the Aztecs head coach. What others didn't know is that the AD and the university president spoke behind closed doors to see if they could make this coaching change a reality by getting influential donors and alums to cough up the cash and buyout Long's contract. On Saturday Long was dropped the bomb, and yesterday it became official.

Can Notre Dame pull off such a thing? Definitely. Will they? Probably not. Why? Well there are several reasons.

First is the recruiting coup that they have going for them. If a coaching change is made before the National Signing Day, most of the Irish recruits will decide to go elsewhere. Another reason, which I stated a few weeks ago, and I'm regretting saying it, is that we cannot forget what Weis did his first two seasons.

But if we took a step back and looked at the bigger picture, Weis is just not cutting it here.

If, and I mean, if Notre Dame decides to go a different direction with their coach, Swarbrick, the BOT and the administration need to have a list on hand now. They also need to have the cash flow to make this happen, and if many of the so-called angry Sorin Society members are upset as they proclaim to be from several of the message boards, then that should not be a problem.

The hard question that many, including myself, have been whacking our brains out is whom can we get to coach the Fighting Irish? Forget your pipe dreams of getting Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops here to South Bend. They have it made at both Florida and Oklahoma, respectively.

Jon Gruden of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Haven't we already had enough of the NFL mentality? Then who?

Here's a short list of three names that could be a possibility and a stretch, but would be a temptation if offered:

1.) Brian Kelly (Cincinnati)
In only his second full season with the Bearcats, Kelly is 12th among active FBS coaches in wins. With a win this Saturday against the Syracuse Orange, Cincinnati will have won the Big East Conference and will be slated to play in the Orange Bowl.

Before taking over the Bearcats, Kelly turned around a Central Michigan team from a MAC doormat to the leaders of the pack. And even before that, he guided Grand Valley State to two National Championships in Division II. With the Lakers, he never finished lower than third in their conference standings.

2.) Chris Petersen (Boise State)
In almost three full seasons, Petersen has guided Boise State to a 34-3 record and two bowl games, including a improbable Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. He is considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football today.

Petersen's coaching lineage started at Pittsburgh as a quarterbacks coach. He helped with the progression of former Panthers great Alex Van Pelt. Petersen moved back to the West Coast and was the QB coach at Portland State and then the receivers coach at Oregon before being Dan Hawkins' offensive coordinator of the Broncos.

3.) Mike Leach (Texas Tech)
You know you're a hot commodity when they have a website to petition for Texas Tech to keep Mike Leach (http://www.keepmikeleachattech.com). Also another one of the most innovative offensive minds of the college game, Leach has quite a list of accomplishments while leading the Red Raiders:

8 consecutive winning seasons
8 consecutive bowl appearances
6 consecutive eight-win seasons
3 nine-win seasons
5 bowl wins (most by any individual coach in the history of the program)
3 seasons completed with team ranked in the Top 25
15–9 record against in-state conference rivals Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M
44–10 record at Jones AT&T Stadium

Before his tenure in Lubbock, Leach was the offensive coordinator for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. All he did was guide the Sooners offense from 11th in the Big 12 conference in 1998 to first in 1999, and 101st in the NCAA to 11th. He was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky before his stop in Norman, where he set 41 Southeastern Conference Records and 6 NCAA records with the Wildcats.

Leach got his first offensive coordinator gig under Hal Mumme at Division II giant Valdosta State (Georgia). VSU's record during Leach's tenure was 40-17-1 with three National Championship appearances and one title.

The time is ticking to get the wheels in motion for Notre Dame to make some hard decisions. Do they want to be mediocre with some top 25 finishes scattered every five years, or do they want to compete with the big boys of college football. That's the real million-dollar question.

OMG, ND Is Becoming The Chicago Cubs of College Football

Weis Gipper — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:34:35 -0500

Hi, I'm Weis Gipper, and I'm a Charlie Weis apologist! For almost four seasons I've watched Weis lead the Fighting Irish to almost the top of the mountain to the pits of hell. I have made countless and repeatedly excuses as to why you should remain as coach: 1.) First two seasons at the helm leading the Irish to BCS Bowl appearances, and 2.) Superb recruiting classes.

After Saturday's 24-23 loss to then 2-8 Syracuse, I've decided to put down and stop drinking the Weis Kool-Aid.

At the beginning of his tenure, Charlie Weis was shattering Notre Dame records left and right. Unfortunately he's still making the Irish record books for all the wrong reasons.

After Saturday's debacle, Weis' squad became the first Notre Dame team to lose to an eight loss opponent EVER in Fighting Irish Football history! And to top that off, the Irish's 14 loss total in two years is the most EVER in that time frame. If you think that is bad, just wait for this doozie.

Notre Dame is now currently tied with Texas for second in all-time wins in college football. After this weekend, the Irish will be in third place, and it will most likely fall down further with others creeping up very slowly. Nebraska is nipping on the Irish's heels; and excuse me for puking in my mouth, but Ohio State could surpass ND in a few short years if we don't nip this thing in the bud soon.

Notre Dame has been the pinnacle of college football with all of its steep tradition, winning teams, winning coaches, Heisman Trophy winners, and of course their National Championships. We Are ND, the New York Yankees of college football, right? Lately the Fighting Irish have become the laughing stock of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Every fan, student, and alum are asking themselves, "How can Notre Dame become a consistent power in College Football?"

The Board of Trustees, the Administration, and the Athletic Director need to sit down and hammer this out now. First off, they need to address their priorities. Do they want to succeed in football, or do they want to become the lovable losers like the Chicago Cubs? Just as Lou Holtz said on ESPN Saturday night, does ND want to be a 6-6, 7-5 team, or do they want to contend for National Championships? Just tell us, so we can move on.

Once they have established the purpose of the football program, next they need to set up backup plans and have lists of what and who is going to lead them to this next level. We've already heard and seen on national television of Jack Swarbrick's endorsement of Charlie Weis. Does that necessarily mean he actually believes that? Not sure, because look what San Diego State has done with Chuck Long.

A few weeks ago, SDSU's athletic director said they Chuck Long is their guy and will be remaining as the Aztecs head coach. What others didn't know is that the AD and the university president spoke behind closed doors to see if they could make this coaching change a reality by getting influential donors and alumnus to cough up the cash and buyout Long's contract. On Saturday Long was dropped the bomb, and yesterday it became official.

Can Notre Dame pull off such a thing? Definitely. Will they? Probably not. Why? Well there are several reasons. First is the recruiting coup that they going for them. If a coaching change is made before the National Signing Day, most of the Irish recruits will decide to go elsewhere. Another reason, which I stated a few weeks ago, and I'm regretting saying it, is that we cannot forget what Weis did his first two seasons. But if we took a step back and looked at the bigger picture, Weis is just not cutting it here.

If, and I mean, if Notre Dame decides to go a different direction with their coach, Swarbrick, the BOT and the administration need to have a list on hand now. They also need to have the cash flow to make this happen, and if many of the so-called angry Sorin Society members are upset as they proclaim to be from several of the message boards, then that should not be a problem.

The hard question that many, including myself, have been whacking our brains out is who can we get to coach the Fighting Irish? Forget your pipe dreams of getting Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops here to South Bend. They have it made at both Florida and Oklahoma, respectively. Jon Gruden of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Haven't we already had enough of the NFL mentality? Then who?

Here's a short list of three names that could be a possability and a stretch, but would be a temptation if offered:

1.) Brian Kelly (Cincinnati)

In only his second full season with the Bearcats, Kelly is 12th among active FBS coaches in wins. With a win this Saturday against the Syracuse Orange, Cincinnati will have won the Big East Conference and will be slated to play in the Orange Bowl.

Before taking over the Bearcats, Kelly turned around a Central Michigan team from a MAC doormat to the leaders of the pack. And even before that, he guided Grand Valley State to two National Championships in Division II. With the Lakers, he never finished lower than third in their conference standings.

2.) Chris Petersen (Boise State)

In almost three full seasons, Petersen has guided Boise State to a 34-3 record and two bowl games, including a improbable Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. He is considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football today.

Petersen's coaching lineage started at Pittsburgh as a quarterbacks coach. He helped with the progression of former Panthers great Alex Van Pelt. Petersen moved back to the West Coast and was the QB coach at Portland State and then the receivers coach at Oregon before being Dan Hawkins' offensive coordinator of the Broncos.

3.) Mike Leach (Texas Tech)

You know you're a hot commodity when they have a website to petition for Texas Tech to keep Mike Leach (http://www.keepmikeleachattech.com). Also another one of the most innovative offensive minds of the college game, Leach has quite a list of accomplishments while leading the Red Raiders:

8 consecutive winning seasons
8 consecutive bowl appearances
6 consecutive eight-win seasons
3 nine-win seasons
5 bowl wins (most by any individual coach in the history of the program)
3 seasons completed with team ranked in the Top 25
15–9 record against in-state conference rivals Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M
44–10 record at Jones AT&T Stadium

Before his tenure in Lubbock, Leach was the offensive coordinator for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. All he did was guide the Sooners offense from 11th in the Big 12 conference in 1998 to first in 1999, and 101st in the NCAA to 11th! He was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky before his stop in Norman, where he set 41 Southeastern Conference Records and 6 NCAA records with the Wildcats.

Leach got his first offensive coordinator gig under Hal Mumme at Division II giant Valdosta State (Georgia). VSU's record during Leach's tenure was 40-17-1 with three National Championship appearances and one title.

The time is ticking to get the wheels in motion for Notre Dame to make some hard decisons. Do they want to be mediocre with some top 25 finishes scattered every five years, or do they want to compete with the big boys of college football. That's the real million dollar question.

Notre Dame at Loyola Marymount Game Preview

Weis Gipper — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:58:23 -0500

Game Two: No. 9 Notre Dame (1-0) at Loyola Marymount (0-3)
Date: Friday, November 21
Time: 10:00 (E.S.T.)

The ninth ranked Fighting Irish will be warming up their legs against the Lions as this game will mark the first of four contests Notre Dame will play over the next five days. Following the game, Notre Dame heads to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational and a first round match-up with intra-state rival Indiana.

Notre Dame looks to pick up where they left off last Sunday when they defeated USC Upstate 94-58. After a sluggish first half with the Irish going into the locker up 11, Notre Dame doubled-up the Spartans scoring 50 second half points.

The Lukes, Harangody and Zellar, led the way for the Irish with 30 and 18 points, respectively. Harangody also grabbed 14 boards as the Irish won the battle of the glass 45-31.

Another positive sign of the Irish heading into the match-up with the Lions is the unselfish play. Notre Dame had 25 assists in the game, led by guard Tory Jackson's eight.

Loyola Marymount is going to take its lumps early and often as they start three freshmen and two sophomores. Last weekend in the World Vision Classic at Ames, Iowa, the Lions finished last as they lost contests to UW-Milwaukee (75-51), host Iowa St. (67-55), and UC Davis (64-55).

The Lions are led by sophomore guard Vernon Teel. He is LMU's leading scorer (19.3), rebounder (9.3), and assist man (2.7), on the team.

It should be an exciting atmosphere in Los Angeles, as this will be the first home sellout at the Gersten Pavilion. The contest should be over relatively quickly as the Irish pose too much muscle inside and sharp shooting from the outside for the Lions to handle. This will be a nice setup for the Irish's upcoming slate of big games in Maui.

Loyola Marymount
Head Coach:Bill Bayno, first season at LMU; 94-64 in five seasons at UNLV

Last Season: 5-26 overall, 2-12 West Coast Conference (eighth place)

STRENGTHS
Coach Bill Bayno represents, in many ways, a fresh start for the program. He considers the Lions a sleeping giant. When the Lions were running, scoring and—most important—winning under Paul Westhead two decades ago, LMU wasn't a friendly environment for visiting teams. Bayno has great resources, can recruit nationally and internationally, and has said he'll play "the big boys."

Aside from the new leader on the bench, the Lions' personnel isn't poor. Two freshmen—Orlando Johnson and Tim Diederichs—represent a foundation this year and beyond. Johnson (12.4 points per game) was one of three WCC freshmen to lead their teams in scoring. He set the school freshman scoring record with 383 points and Diederichs started all 31 games.

WEAKNESSES
The Lions haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 1990 (Bo Kimble anyone?) and won five games last season. The team is young, and will be baptized by jumping through the many flaming hoops encountered in a top-heavy West Coast Conference schedule.

LMU was last in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and seventh in defensive rebounds in 2007-08. That fed the woeful scoring margin of minus-16.7 per game. LMU shot under 40 percent as a team and was last in the league in free-throw percentage. Bayno has no shortage of items to focus on when preaching improvement.

Projected Starters

LMU
F Ashley Hamilton 5.0 ppg, 4.7 rebs.
F Kevin Young 4.0 ppg, 2.0 rebs.
F Tim Diederichs 2.3 ppg, 1.3 rebs.
G Jarred DuBois 9.3 ppg, 2.3 rebs.
G Vernon Teel 19.3 ppg, 9.3 rebs.

Notre Dame
F Zach Hillesland 13.0 ppg, 8.0 rebs.
F Luke Harangody 30 ppg, 14.0 rebs.
G Ryan Ayers 7.0 ppg, 3.0 rebs.
G Tory Jackson 6.0 ppg, 1.0 rebs.
G Kyle McAlarney 10.0 ppg, 2.0 rebs.

Notre Dame-Syracuse: Six Keys to the Game for the Irish

Weis Gipper — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:39:34 -0500

Kermit the Frog once said, "It ain't easy being green." Well, the truth of the matter for the Fighting Irish on Saturday is that it's indeed easy being green!

During the Charlie Weis era, Notre Dame has beaten their home finale opponent by nearly four touchdowns. So Irish fans, don't get too nervous when the boys don the green jerseys in honor of the Seniors and Green Week (sponsored by NBC).

Syracuse, meanwhile, is limping into this contest 2-8 with lame duck coach Greg Robinson. Greggers was given his walking papers last Sunday but will be able to finish out the remaining two games with the Orange. The question for Syracuse will be whether they will play hard for their outgoing coach or give up like Washington has this season.

1) Don't let the emotions get in the way.

For the Irish seniors, this is their last time running out of their tunnel and playing in front of 80,000+ at Notre Dame Stadium, so make it count! ND hasn't lost a home finale since Ty's last season (41-38 loss to Pittsburgh), and it shouldn't happen this Saturday, as the team needs to play loose and keep their emotions in check.

The Irish also need to quit worrying about bowl destinations because they will take care of themselves after next week's game with Southern Cal.

I wonder if Haywood's soon-to-be departure will have any residual effects on the team as well. We shall see, but the main focus is Syracuse and playing a full 60-minute contest.

2) Continue stuffing the run.

Last week the Irish stopped the vaunted option attack of Navy to the tune of 178 yards, which is well below their season average. That's something Pittsburgh's defense could not duplicate against the Midshipmen.

Notre Dame's defense will have their hands full with Syracuse's Curtis Brinkley. Brinkley is averaging 106 yards per game, while the Orange are rushing 146 as a team. If the Irish can shut Brinkley well below his average, Notre Dame will be in control throughout.

Look for Toryan Smith to have another big game filling in for the injured Brian Smith, while Maurice Crum will end his last home game in grand fashion.

3) Keep on running.

Next to Washington, Syracuse will be the worst run-stopping defense the Irish face this season. The Orange are giving up 209 yards (107th nationally) and 8.5 touchdowns a game.

On the flip side, Notre Dame's 230 yards last week against Navy was their second-highest rushing output this season. That could be in jeopardy because all three Irish backs are running with some confidence now. Look for two of Notre Dame's back to eclipse the 100-yard barrier against the Orange.

This will be another strong showing on the ground for the Irish as long as they take care of business along the line and with the ball.

4) Pickles, manage the game Weis-ly.

Jimmy Clausen wasn't asked to do too much last week against Navy because Notre Dame believed they could run on the Midshipmen, which they did. Clausen connected on 15-of-18 passes for 110 yards. He did, however, have three turnovers on the day.

What Weis will ask of his second-year quarterback is to do the little things correctly and not force the ball into heavy traffic. Once the Irish establish pounding the ball with ease, then Clausen can look down the field for some deep passes.

5) Passing fancy with short, intermediate passes.

Depending on what Greggers and the Orange defense give the Irish, Notre Dame needs to control their offense methodically with quick slants and some out routes. Syracuse's opponents are completing over 64 percent of their passes on the Orange defense, which has the Irish salivating.

Golden Tate has been quiet as of late, but he could have another strong performance with huge yards after catches. Robby Parris and Duval Kamara need to use their height to their advantage against the smaller Orange secondary, while David Grimes will close out a good career with at least one touchdown reception.

Look for more screen passes and a few fades to keep the Orange defense honest.

6) Force the Orange to pass.

Syracuse's offensive weakness is Notre Dame's strength. The Orange are 112th in the country in passing (125 ypg) and are completing less than 50 percent of their passes (48.4 percent). If the Irish can get up on Syracuse quickly and stuff the Orange rushing attack, Notre Dame can pull away easily.

The Irish will see both Syracuse quarterbacks in Cameron Dantley and Andrew Robinson. Dantley has been the starter for most of the season with nine touchdown passes, four interceptions, 1,117 yards, and a 50 percent completion average. Robinson, last year's starter, has three interceptions, 132 yards, and a 40 percent completion average to his 2008 resume.

Notre Dame has one of the best pass defenses in the nation (22nd), yielding only 179 yards through the air. Their opponents are barely completing 50 percent of their passes (51.1 percent), and they have given up only nine passing touchdowns.

When the Orange do pass, look for the Irish to have relative ease behind David Bruton, Kyle McCarthy, and a bevy of lockdown corners. Watch out for Robert Blanton to have a big game defensively.

Closing out the home portion of the schedule at 5-1 is definitely a lot better than that of last season. This will definitely be a building block for the future, but a date in the Coliseum looms Thanksgiving weekend, as well as a to be decided bowl game.

As the clock hits zeros on Saturday, the only thing turning green will be Orange fans as the Irish dominate the contest throughout.

On the Defensive: Notre Dame Looks to Shine in '09

Weis Gipper — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:05:14 -0500

As the saying goes, defense wins championships—and for the Fighting Irish, it looks like they are priming themselves for one heck of a defensive unit.

When Charlie Weis took over the reins in 2005, his teams were not the most stout defensively. After several top recruiting classes and getting two top-notch coaches in Corwin Brown and Jon Tenuta, Notre Dame is becoming one of the better defensive teams in the country.

Below are the Irish's defensive stats and national ranks from 2005 to the current 2008 season.

2005 Defense

Rushing: 132.33 ypg (34th)
Passing: 264.58 ypg (103rd)
Pass Eff.: 126.40 avg. (69th)
Total Def.: 396.92 ypg (75th)

2006 Defense

Rushing: 136.85 ypg (61st)
Passing: 203.38 ypg (60th)
Pass Eff.: 137.59 avg. (90th)
Total Def.: 340.23 ypg (65th)

2007 Defense

Rushing: 195.42 ypg (96th)
Passing: 161.58 ypg (second)
Pass Eff.: 111.78 avg. (22nd)
Total Def.: 357.00 ypg (39th)

2008 Defense thru 10 games

Rushing: 137.70 ypg (57th)
Passing: 179.70 ypg (22nd)
Pass Eff.: 101.46 avg. (11th)
Total Def.: 316.40 ypg (31st)

Some might argue that this year's squad is benefiting from a weak schedule, but you cannot disregard the fact that the Fighting Irish have greatly improved across the board defensively.

Just look at last week's performance against the Naval Academy, where Notre Dame held the second-ranked rushing offense to only 178 yards. That's 117 yards below their season average! Pittsburgh, who has one of the better rushing defenses in the country, didn't hold the Middies to that yardage.

One of the reasons for the rise in success of Notre Dame's defense is that they are generating depth. Better yet, they are generating depth with high caliber athletes!

Some of the downfalls of recent Irish teams were that there was not enough depth along the defensive front or in the secondary. This season Notre Dame is getting quality minutes from a lot of players who will be called upon in the near future.

Here's a preview of what the defensive starting lineup could look like next season.

DE Morrice Richardson
NT Ian Williams
DE Ethan Johnson
SAM Harrison Smith or Steve Filer
MIKE Brian Smith
JACK Toryan Smith
WILL Kerry Neal or Darius Fleming
LCB Raeshon McNeil or Gary Gray
FS Sergio Brown
SS Kyle McCarthy 5th yr (DNP as a Freshman)
RCB Darrin Walls or Robert Blanton

Key backups that saw game action this season

NT Paddy Mullen
SAM Scott Smith 5th yr (DNP as a Sophomore)
WILL John Ryan
JACK Anthony McDonald (Special Teams in 2008)
DE Emeka Nwankwo

Will see action next year

DE Sean Cwynar
DE Kapron Lewis-Moore
FS Dan McCarthy
NG Brandon Newman
LB David Posluszny
DB Jamoris Slaughter
DE Hafis Williams

Waiting in the wings

LB Carlo Calabrese
LB Dan Fox
LB Zeke Motta
DB Marlon Pollard
DL Tyler Stockton

So you can see the Irish are finally stockpiling at the positions where the elite schools have done for years.

The other equation to having an ever-improving defense has been the addition of Coordinator Corwin Brown and Assistant Head Coach Jon Tenuta. The end result of their tutelage has shown from last season to this season and from week to week in 2008. Hopefully the Irish and Charlie Weis can keep both intact for the long haul.

The pieces to the puzzle are now setting into place for the Irish defensively. Next year will be the start of a big successful run in Notre Dame's leap back into elite status and waking up the echoes of seasons past.

Notre Dame-Navy: Report Card

Weis Gipper — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:02:22 -0500

For 58 minutes of the Fighting Irish's game with Navy, it seemed liked Notre Dame would easily get their sixth win of the year.

Unfortunately, for the remaining two minutes, two Navy Touchdowns off of two successful onside kick recoveries, the Irish and Coach Weis were holding on for dear life in ND's 27-21 win at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

QB: C

Once again, Jimmy Clausen had a rough outing, throwing two interceptions and fumbling once. After that, he actually managed the game well completing 15 of 18 passes for 118 yards. In the pivotal third quarter, Clausen guided the Irish down the field on two scoring drives that seemed to put the contest out of reach.

RB: A-

The Irish rushing attack had the second-most rushing yards this season, gaining 230 against a formidable rushing defense in Navy. It's almost a rarity that the Midshipmen get out-rushed by their opponents.

James Alridge led the charges with 80 yards, while Robert Hughes (64 yards) and Armando Allen (60 yards) each had a rushing touchdown for the Irish. Allen also was Notre Dame's leading receiver with seven catches for 60 yards.

Jonas Gray got some meaningful carries (seven rushes for 20 yards) but fumbled at the two-yard line during a downpour in the fourth quarter.

FB: B

Asaph Schwapp is making the most out of his time on the field, that's for sure. Schwapp made some key lead blocks for his fellow Irish backs. He'll be expected to do the same this coming Saturday, as Syracuse is not that great at stopping the run.

TE: C

It was an average day for Kyle Rudolph, as he only had one catch for eight yards. He had a few good blocks down the field on some runs. Other than that, just a ho-hum afternoon for the freshmen.

WR: B

Things looked to go south from the get-go when Michael Floyd went down with a knee injury on the third play from scrimmage. Navy, like Boston College, put six and seven defenders in pass coverage all day to stop the Irish passing attack, which forced Notre Dame into short, intermediate passes.

David Grimes led the receiving corps with three receptions (22 yards), while most of Clausen's passes went to Armando Allen out of the backfield.

OL: B-

The offensive line did a tremendous job with running plays up the middle, en route to 230 rushing yards for the Irish. However, there are still some lingering issues of missed assignments, which led to Clausen's fumble and second interception.

It should always be a given that Notre Dame can rush on Navy, since they outman the Midshipmen by over two inches and 50 pounds across the line.

Overall Offensive Grade: B/B-

Defensively, this was most impressive showing of the season before the starters were pulled late in fourth quarter. The Irish defense held the second-leading rushing team in the country to only 178 yards. But wait, that's not the most surprising stat of the game. Notre Dame forced Navy into eight three-and outs for the game. Coming into the game, Navy only had 17 on the year.

DL: A-

I'm not sure if it has to do something with Navy, but Ian Williams seems to shine when the Irish face the Midshipmen. Williams led the defensive front with seven stops. Justin Brown had a good outing with five tackles and one fumble recovery, while Pat Kuntz had four stops, including a key half sack at the end of the game.

LB: A

Toryan Smith stepped up like the player he was touted to be when he first arrived in South Bend. Smith led Notre Dame with 10 tackles and a touchdown off a blocked punt in the first quarter.

Maurice Crum bounced back after having no tackles the previous week at Boston College with seven stops and a forced fumble.

DB: B-

For most of the contest, the defensive backs were all over the field shutting down the vaunted Navy option attack. Even good secondaries have some blunders, which the Irish did on the first Navy touchdown, but they almost gave it away at the end if the Midshipmen receiver didn't cross up his feet with a dropped pass inside the 10 yard line.

Now for the positives! Once again David Bruton (six tackles, two passes broken up) and Kyle McCarthy (five stops) led the way for the Irish secondary.

Overall Defensive Grade: B+

ST: C-

If it wasn't for the way things ended, Notre Dame's special teams would be looking at a significantly higher mark. Mike Anello's blocked punt which was returned for a touchdown was the play of the game and set the tone for the Irish.

Brandon Walker has now become Mr. Reliable, connecting on his two field goal attempts of the day. Since his last miss against Stanford, Walker has made nine out of his lat 10 field goals.

Giving up one onside kick is alright, but giving up two is uncalled for in this type of game. Players need to go after the ball and fall down, period! It's a huge problem if you don't even attempt to go after or try and stop the defenders from knocking you down on your ass.

I'm sorry, but I have a major problem with what happened. Hopefully Notre Dame won't have to be in that situation again this season.

Coaching: C-

Weis coached a decent game through three and a half quarters, but again he failed to finish them strong. I didn't have a problem with him pulling some of his offensive starters in the fourth quarter. They almost put it out of reach with a touchdown or field goal, but unfortunately Jonas Gray fumbled at the two.

Another Weis hiccup was not electing to punt the ball on the Navy 40-yard line, and pinning them deep into their territory. Instead, he elected to go for it, and turned the ball over on downs. Navy made the most of their short field, scoring five plays later with a minute and change left. A 15-yard personal foul penalty didn't help either.

I didn't mind seeing Golden Tate in the Wildcat formation whatsoever. I do have a problem of how he set it all up. Coming out of a timeout, the Irish lined up and showed the Midshipmen exactly what they were doing.

The proper way would have had the Irish still huddled up and then go in formation with a quick snap. That would have forced Navy to either A) call a timeout, or B) run around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Overall Grade: B-/B (2.73)

Next Game: Syracuse

Next to Washington and San Diego State, Syracuse is the worst opponent the Irish will face this season. After Greg Robinson was officially fired this past Sunday, the Orange have nothing to lose and will give it their all. Unlike Washington, where they just rolled over and took it, I expect Syracuse to have some fight in them.

Under Weis, the Irish have fared extremely well in their home finales: going 3-0 with wins over Syracuse (34-10), Army (41-9), and Duke (28-7). That's an average score of 34-8. The last time Notre Dame lost a home finale was Coach Willingham's last season in 2004 when the Irish lost to Pittsburgh 41-38.

Saturday should not be in doubt whatsoever, as they will go 7-4 on the year before heading out to Los Angeles for their annual showdown with Southern Cal.

IBB Weekly Motivator Week 32: Notre Dame Assistants Not Cutting It

Weis Gipper — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:06:05 -0500

Enough is enough, coach Charlie Weis needs to cut his losses and part with some of his staff. As we all remember, one of Ty Willingham's many downfalls was his loyalty in keeping staff members.

After watching Saturday's game, no way should have Navy been able to get back into that game the way it did.

Two onside-kick recoveries? Really?

It looked liked they did not know what the heck they were doing or even practiced it at all this season. That's just some of the special team blunders in 2008!

The offensive line actually had a good game against the Midshipmen, but that's what should be expected, right? Well, under John Latina's tutelage, the Irish are averaging only 118.75 yards a game and have an average rank of 81st in the country. Sorry, but that's just not going to to cut it here at Notre Dame.

If Weis wants to have a run at a BCS bowl and a successful 2009 campaign, changes need to be in order at the end of the year.

Notre Dame-Navy: Tale of the Tape

Weis Gipper — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:17:01 -0500

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen resume their annual rivalry this weekend as they meet at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

The Irish enter the contest on a down note: they were blanked by Boston College 17-10 last wseekend. It was the second loss in a row by the ND who dipped to 5-4 overall. Most of the team's struggles this season have come on the road, where the Irish have won just once in four tries.

Navy was idle last week after pulling out a thrilling 33-27 victory over Temple on Nov. 1. The win was their second straight as the Mids became bowl eligible at 6-3.

Navy already has intentions of playing the inaugural Eagle-Bank Bowl in the nation's capital come mid-December. Notre Dame owns a commanding 70-10-1 historical lead over Navy and that includes a 44-6-1 advantage at neutral sites.

The Mids, however, snapped a NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to the Irish with a 46-44 triple-overtime victory last season. It was the first time Navy won since a 35-14 victory in 1963 when Roger Staubach was quarterback for the Midshipmen.

Notre Dame has enjoyed success on offense for the most part this season, entering the weekend averaging 24.3 ppg and 375.0 total ypg. They have been more effective through the air (259.4 ypg) than on the ground (115.6 ypg), but have had some issues with turnovers, committing 20 on the year.

Last weekend the Irish turned the ball over five times, gaining just 292 total yards in a 17-0 loss at Boston College.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen had an awful game, throwing for 226 yards and four interceptions on 26-of-46 tosses. It was certainly a disappointing effort from Clausen, who has fared much better on the year, averaging for 258.8 ypg, with 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Michael Floyd and Golden Tate have provided Clausen with a pair of dangerous targets, collectively accounting for 89 receptions, 1,444 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Last weekend Tate hauled in six passes for 66 yards while Floyd finished with five catches for 69 yards.

The Fighting Irhs haven't had much success on the ground and Armando Allen and his modest 457 rushing yards pace the team.

The Irish have really clamped down on defense this year, limiting foes to 20.4 pg and 324.7 total ypg. The unit has done a respectable job versus both the run (132.1 ypg) and pass (192.6 ypg), also managing 17 takeaways.

In last weekend's loss, ND's defense actually played very well and was only responsible for 10 of the 17 points allowed. The defense didn't force any turnovers, but did hold BC to just 236 total yards, including only 79 through the air. The Irish also stepped up on third down, holding BC to a tune of 3 successes in 14 tries.

Harrison Smith guided the team in defeat with nine stops, while Kyle McCarthy made eight stops. On the year, McCarthy heads the club with 84 tackles, but David Bruton is a close second with 76 take-downs. Bruton also has a team-best three interceptions to his credit.

Behind their option attack, the Mids are turning out an impressive 308.0 ypg on the ground behind a 5.4 yard-per-carry average. Of the offense's 29 touchdowns scored, 24 have come via the run.

In its 33-27 overtime victory over Temple two weeks ago, Navy amassed 293 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground. Eric Kettani led the way, rushing for 118 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He currently ranks second in the squad with 673 yards, trailing only Shun White's 834 yards and six scores.

Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada added 64 yards and a score on 11 carries in the win, but he left the game with a hamstring injury and is listed as questionable for this weekend. Kaheaku-Enhada has missed significant time with injuries this season, resulting favorably for Jarod Bryant and Ricky Dobbs.

With Bryant out of action last game due to a shoulder injury Dobbs was called upon and he responded, rushing for 47 yards and a score, also throwing for 87 yards and another touchdown. Bryant, who ranks third on the team in rushing with 440 yards, is also listed as questionable for this game which may land Dobbs the starting gig. Dobbs has seen action this season, rushing for 342 yards and six scores.

Defensively, the Mids have been up and down all season and enter the contest allowing 25.6 ppg and 373.0 total ypg. The unit has fared well against the run (116.3 ypg), but has been torched for 256.7 ypg through the air. Creating turnovers, though, has helped compensate for some of those yards: Navy have recorded 20 takeaways.

The Midshipmen generated a pair of turnovers and even tied the game against Temple, scoring on a 42-yard fumble by Clint Sovie with 37 seconds left in regulation. That miscue helped the defense overcome 409 yards of total offense by Temple, which hadn't had much success moving the ball this season. Ross Pospisil had 11 stops and a forced fumble in the win, while Corey Johnson logged 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Johnson tops the club with 62 tackles this season, including 5.5 for losses.

Navy have had plenty of joy this season, but Notre Dame should throw all over the soft Midshipmen defense en route to the victory this weekend.

Notre Dame 35
Navy 21

Navy Injury Report
QB Jarod Bryant (11/12, right shoulder) probable
DE Michael Walsh (11/12, foot) questionable
KR John Angelo (9/29, concussion) out indefinitely
OL Andrew McGinn (10/3, concussion) out for season
QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (11/12, hamstring) doubtful

Notre Dame Injury Report
OL Chris Stewart (11/12, leg) doubtful
LB Kerry Neal (11/12, leg) questionable
WR George West Jr (11/12, undisclosed) questionable
FB Luke Schmidt (10/1, headaches) out indefinitely

TE Will Yeatman (10/1, disciplinary/legal) out for season

DB Jashaad Gaines (9/12, personal) out indefinitely
DB Darrin Walls (8/27, personal) out for season
TE Mike Ragone (8/23, left knee surgery) out for season

Team Leaders
Receptions: Navy Barnes (15), ND Floyd (46)
Rec. Yards: Navy Barnes (280), ND Tate (742)
Rushing Atts: Navy Bryant (129), ND Allen (102)
Rushing Yds: Navy White (834), ND Allen (457)
Pass Atts: Navy Bryant (32), ND Clausen (335)
Pass Comp: Navy Bryant (18), ND Clausen (198)
Pass Yards: Navy Bryant (265), ND Clausen (2,329)
Comp %: Navy Dobbs (85.7), ND Clausen (59.1)
TD passes: Navy Bryant & Kaheaku-Enhada (2), ND Clausen (18)
INTs: Navy Bryant (3), ND Clausen (13)

Notre Dame-USC Upstate Game Preview

Weis Gipper — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:20:35 -0500

Game One: Notre Dame vs. USC Upstate
Date: Sunday, Nov. 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EST)

Notre Dame will tip off their 2008-2009 season on Sunday when they host USC Upstate. The Spartans are entering only their second full season of Division I competition and will have their hands full when they face the ninth ranked Fighting Irish.

The Irish have looked solid with two exhibition wins over Briar Cliff (103-64) and Stonehill College (79-47). Notre Dame will be looking for a good start because after Sunday, the Irish will start a five-game stretch in 11 days that includes a trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.

USC Upstate will have already played one game on the season as they travel to Athens, GA to face the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday night. The Spartans shouldn't put up too much of a fight against the Irish, but do have one of the tallest players, if not the tallest player, Notre Dame will face all season in Nick Schneiders.

Schneiders is 7'3", 250 pounds, and was the leading shot blocker on the Spartans last season with 25. USC Upstate's best player is forward Bobby Davis. He was their leading scorer and rebounder in 2007-2008.

Look for the Irish to get out of the gates fast behind the inside-outside combo of Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney. This contest should be over by halftime as Mike Brey will look to empty his bench in the second half.

USC Upstate

Head Coach: Eddie Payne (career 360-310); seventh year at USC Upstate (100-77)

Last Year: 7-23 overall, 5-11 (Atlantic Sun)

Strengths: The roster is deeper than it's ever been with three returning starters, four other returning contributors and a freshman class that's five deep.

Weaknesses: While the roster is deep, it's also inexperienced. Top returning scorer Bobby Davis (9.8 ppg) and Mezie Uzochukwu (7.5 ppg) are the two main returning contributors, and everyone else will be playing a lot more minutes against tough competition.

Projected Starters

USC Upstate

C Nick Schneiders
F Bobby Davis
F Mezie Uzochukwu
G Gabor Boros
G Josh Chavis

Notre Dame

F Luke Zellar
F Ryan Ayers
F Luke Harangody
G Tory Jackson
G Kyle McAlarney