Nevada Game is Key to Notre Dame Irish's Season

Like many Notre Dame fans, I am excited to see the Irish in action this Saturday against Nevada. I have been waiting for this since Christmas. This is the year that Charlie Weis' recruiting will finally have to start to pay dividends. There is no doubt that he is on the hot seat. An alum even put up a bulletin board to indicate that.

That makes this week's game all the more important. The Irish have to make a statement in this one. A year ago, they opened with San Diego State. Although the Irish did win, they made no kind of statement at all. They went on to have an up and down season. It did end on a big up note in Hawaii.

Unlike some, I feel that Jack Swarbrick made the right choice to retain Charlie Weis for another season. Yes, the Syracuse game was embarrassing. However, there is no doubt that they were much improved when the season ended. Weis' recruits were finally starting to gel together.

As much as I did see the improvement last year, the reality is that another 7-6 season isn't good enough. It is time for Jimmy Clausen and company to live up to the hype and expectations when they were rated as such highly regarded recruits. They were thrown to the wolves early.

They played with a very inexperienced line and definitely took their lumps. Now that same line is the most experienced in all of college football. That also means that Clausen, Golden Tate, Armando Allen, and company are also experienced. Hopefully, that experience translates into wins.

This game against Nevada will give Notre Dame fans and haters a better idea of where exactly the Irish are in comparison to other programs. They cannot have a repeat of last year's opening game. Nevada is a better team than San Diego State. They actually have one of the best offenses in the nation.

That will be a good early test for the Irish defense. Offensively, the Irish should score a lot of points. I know I expect to see a huge jump in production. This is a game that the Irish have to come ready to play. If they aren't it has upset written all over it.

Also, Weis haters will be out bad next week if the team doesn't come ready. I can just see it now. "Weis doesn't prepare them." That is what the haters will say. That is why the players have to come out and get this done for their coach.

Not only do the Irish have to win, but they must do it impressively.