Outside the Irish Huddle: Any Hope Left in South Bend?

Before I get into the ramifications of this past weekend's loss to Michigan, let's hand out some grades to specific Notre Dame positions.

Quarterback: A

You can't really put much blame on Jimmy Clausen in this game, as he continues to be Notre Dame's best player and is putting together a scorching start for an Irish quarterback. He didn't turn the ball over, he threw for 336 yards plus three touchdowns, and he engineered what could have been a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

You would have liked Clausen to be a little more accurate, but I put most of that on poor passing calls from Charlie Weis.

Running Backs: B+

Well, we finally saw Armando Allen have a breakout game, running for 139 yards on 21 carries to go along with a touchdown. Had they correctly called his screen pass as inbounds, Allen would have finished with almost 100 yards receiving as well.

The bad news is that Jonas Gray had a costly fumble and Allen was dinged up on the last drive, forcing Weis to throw the ball with Robert Hughes in the backfield.

Wide Receivers: B+

Looking at the stats, you would think the wideouts deserve an A grade, but they could have played better. Obviously Golden Tate would like to catch those two passes that were right in his breadbasket.

Am I alone in thinking Duval Kamara really isn't that good? The Irish need a legitimate third receiver, and although Kamara has size, he's neither fast nor very physical. Why don't John Goodman, Robby Parris, and Shaquelle Evans get more PT?

Kyle Rudolph had a fairly quiet game, but Michigan kept a good eye on him.

Offensive Line: A

It doesn't seem to make sense that this was the line's best game in years and Notre Dame still lost. They didn't give up a sack, and they cleared numerous running holes for Allen. The penalties were costly, but I think a lot of the calls were pretty ridiculous if I do say so myself. I'm not going to knock Sam Young for pancake-blocking a guy and getting a penalty for it.

Defensive Line: D

The weakest link on the Irish roster was taken advantage of this weekend, that's for sure. Quite simply, Notre Dame's defensive line did not match up well against Nevada or Michigan, and it showed in both games. The heavy blitzing attack is not effective without the D-line getting pressure, and they have not done that. Plus, there's not much size inside to stop the run. It's definitely a cause for concern.

Linebackers: C+

I thought the linebackers played decently, but nothing spectacular. Brian Smith continues to be the best linebacker, and Toryan Smith is playing very well too. Manti Te'o was fairly quiet, but it appeared he didn't play that much. It would have been nice if one of the linebackers had come up with a big play on Michigan's last drive.

Defensive Backs: C-

Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith continue to lead the team in tackles and are playing very well, but they are playing too close to the line of scrimmage and not helping out enough in coverage. After two games, Robert Blanton, Darrin Walls, Raeshon McNeil, and Gary Gray have to show me more because they have looked pretty average thus far.

Special Teams: D

The kickoff return for a touchdown was pretty much the difference in the game, and it is all the more painful seeing as how the Irish have been so good in coverage for quite some time. Nick Tausch's missed field goal was big, but he settled down and hit two more. At this point a 66 percent success rate in the kicking game is what I'll take.

However, Notre Dame definitely has to get someone to kick the ball deeper on kickoffs and find a punter who can actually drive the ball downfield. Michigan had great field position all day long.

Coaching: C-

I think Weis will get more derision from this loss than I think he deserves in terms of his play calling, but the fact remains that his team lost yet again to an inferior opponent. On the defensive side of the ball, the heavy blitzing did not work, and I've been rallying against it for quite a long time now.

Still, the players play the game, and if Gray doesn't fumble or someone tackles the Michigan return man before his touchdown, we might be singing the coaches' praises.

Review

This was definitely one tough loss to swallow for Irish fans everywhere. It hurts because we know Notre Dame is better and it was such a close down to the wire-type loss. Still, there are some positive to take away and lessons to learn from this game.

First off, the Irish offense is very, very good. Clausen has been playing tremendously, and Allen is playing up to his potential. The offensive line has looked markedly improved, and there is so much to be happy about with their play thus far.

Suffice to say, the offense probably won't be much of a problem this season. Only USC may slow them down and keep them under 30 points, but I'd expect at least another big day against Michigan State next weekend.

On defense there are a lot of problems and questions. As I've stated, I don't like the amount of blitzing Jon Tenuta is dialing up on nearly every play. The D-line can't get enough pressure, and the roster doesn't have any spectacular pass rushers as it is.

I would like to think the Irish would have been better off sitting back, stopping the run, and forcing Tate Forcier to beat Notre Dame with his arm or legs against more solid coverage.

A good analogy would be the way certain hockey teams employ the trap to slow down quick offensive teams. It's usually a bad idea to send in two or three forwards on the forecheck against highly skilled teams because they will move the puck quickly and create mismatches down the ice.

That's basically what the Irish have done for two weeks, and Michigan made them pay while Nevada did not. We're constantly sending linebackers and nickelbacks in a weak attempt to chase down the quarterback, when what they're really doing is making it easier for those quarterbacks who can simply sidestep one defender and have favorable matchups downfield.

With that being said, the Irish blitzing will probably be more effective against less mobile quarterbacks in the coming weeks, but the blueprint is there, so to speak, on how to defeat this defense. Hopefully there will be some adjustments and the defense will step up and play better going ahead.

As far as coaching goes, I'm definitely concerned, although I'm not about to ditch Charlie Weis just yet. This team at the very least is showing signs of improvement and is playing much better than last year.

My biggest problem with Weis and his play calling is that he is so quick to abandon the run game and that he constantly calls boneheaded plays in crucial situations. These two factors have haunted Notre Dame throughout his entire career in South Bend.

Of course the Irish running attack wasn't very good last year or the year before, but against Michigan it was working with great precision. But after two runs in the third quarter were stopped for short gains, Weis practically gave up.

I realize Notre Dame had a huge advantage with Michael Floyd and Tate, but Allen was playing so well, and it was a mistake to allow Michigan to know the pass was coming on every play. When that is added to the choice not to run the ball on the last possession, well, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So what does Notre Dame do from here? I think there's still hope, but this loss will take a while to get over, even if the Irish beat Michigan State and later head into the USC game at 4-1.

I really look at this loss and marvel at all of the bad things that happened to Notre Dame. There wasn't one big problem but a host of seven or eight things that combined to cause one heck of a rough loss.

Still, Notre Dame needs to fight on and build momentum as the date with the Trojans comes closer, because a lot of people are looking at that game as a bellwether for the season and program as a whole.

But first, the Spartans must be defeated on Saturday.