USC Trojans on the Horizon: Will Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gain Respect?

The season's first month has passed and the first five games are over.  With a bye week, this is not a bad time to stop and re-analyze early predictions.

At a personal level, I have been greatly impressed by the maturity that Jimmy Clausen has shown in the field.  The image of the arrogant recruit arriving to Notre Dame in a limousine, and the cockiness that showed at the beginning of his college career, is all gone and substituted by confidence and understanding of the game. 

So drastic is the  change that he is now in the Heisman Trophy mix and is having a dream season: first in passing efficiency (179.25), sixth in passing yards per game (308.80), and fifth in total passing yards (1544).

This alone has lifted Notre Dame to be the eighth team in passing offense and the tenth in total offense.

Unfortunately for their BCS aspirations, Notre Dame's running attack and defensive unit have been a letdown.  Some improvement has been noticed, but the Irish are far from the BCS contenders in running attack (59^th) and total defense (96^th); in the latter category, they are well below teams such as Syracuse, Tulsa, Middle Tennessee, San Diego State, etc.

Personally, I blame these issues on the outcome of the season so far, and I will not be surprised if these units cause a debacle which results in Notre Dame finishing with an 8-4 record, and an invitation to a secondary bowl, such as the Gator Bowl or similar.

Notre Dame opened the season by trouncing the Nevada Wolf Pack 35-0 in South Bend.  Before the game, I commented, “The key for Notre Dame in this game will be to keep Nevada’s offensive team in the bench and have an aerial show.”  Jimmy Clausen's 332 passing yards and four passing touchdowns confirmed the idea.

Defensively, Notre Dame still allowed Nevada 307 total yards and 153 rushing yards. S till, the future was optimistic and a die-hard Notre Dame fan like myself was already foreseeing a National Championship run.

Like a soap bubble, the dream crashed to the ground a week later, when Notre Dame traveled to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines.

A fact I was not aware until the day before the game: Notre Dame had once before traveled to Ann Arbor as a ranked team to face an un-ranked Wolverine team, only to find themselves losing and being pushed off the rankings—an unranked Wolverine team beat the No. 13 Irish 20-12 back in 1985.

Before this year's Michigan game, I wrote that Greg Robinson's presence might cause some issues for Notre Dame, but I also optimistically wrote, “Michigan exhibited their worst season in years, ranking 109 on total offense and 67 in total defense.  Expect these numbers to improve notably, but I believe Notre Dame should bring their second consecutive victory of the season against the Wolverines this year.”

The truth of the matter is that, this time, Greg Robinson's defensive schemes did nothing, as the Irish piled up 490 total yards offensively.  The difference?  A defensive unit that was never able to figure how to stop Tate Forcier.  Forcier was the "force" behind an inspired Michigan offensive team that fought till the end, and beat the Irish 38-34 in the last minute of play time.

The weeks to follow unraveled a strange series of events for the Irish aspirations.

About the Spartans' visit to South Bend, I commented, “The fact that Hoyt and Ringer graduated is why I believe Notre Dame should win this game, though not without some nail-biting moments.”

Wow, I did not know how nail-biting those moments were going to be. 

Strangely enough, the defensive unit received the credit for the victory.

MSU QB Kirk Cousins overthrow a pass attempt to a completely opened RB Larry Caper on what would have been the nail on the Irish coffin.  On the immediate next play, at Notre Dame's four-yard line, the defensive line pressure forced Cousins to throw an interception into the hands of Kyle McCarthy, sealing a 33-30 victory for the Irish.

What a nail biter!  It is important to mention that this victory, as ugly as it might have been, broke a streak of six consecutive victories of Michigan State in South Bend.

Purdue was not a team I considered to be particularly difficult for the Irish.  Each game is important because lack of preparation and concentration can result in unexpected results.  Purdue changed coaches, and it is in rebuilding mode.  Notre Dame suffered again of lack of defensive play, and the game came down to the last Irish offensive series.

Notre Dame had lost their best receiver to a clavicle fracture and his stellar QB was maimed with a turf-toe injury.  In spite of Clausen’s injury, he came to the field and carried the Irish to a last-second 24-21 victory over Purdue.

The final game before the bye week was a surprise I was not expecting at all. 

Granted, Steve Sarkisian and his coaching team come from one of the elite teams in the circuit, and one that has proven you can extract the best of each and every player you have.  The first hint about the changes happening in Seattle came in mid-September when the Huskies fought and beat the then-ranked No. 3 USC Trojans.

This game was not easy and, this time, the defensive unit showed some stiffness by holding the Huskies three times within Notre Dame one-yard line without scoring.  In my opinion, it was the story of two defensive teams: one that allowed the Huskies to move freely to score and tie the game in the last two minutes of regulation, and a totally different unit that held Locker and company from scoring within a yard from the goal line.  The game was sent to overtime, where Clausen was perfect.  The defensive unit stopped the Huskies and held them to -9 yards: Notre Dame 37 Washington 30.

After a bye week, Notre Dame will face their eternal foe: USC, currently ranked No. 7 and also coming off a bye week.  After disastrous exhibitions against Washington and Washington State, the Trojans returned to their usual explosiveness and destroyed California, 30-3. 

It would be improbable that Notre Dame will see any of the USC team that barely made it over Ohio State, 18-15; lost to Washington, 13-16; and then barely beat Washington State, 27-6.

The Irish should be prepared to see the Trojans that faced California, the same Trojans that held the Bears to fewer than 300 total offensive yards, while holding RB Jahvid Best, in the running for the Heisman Trophy, to a mere 47 rushing yards. 

The Trojans offense also piled up 457 yards on total offense.  As much as my Leprechaun soul would love to see the Irish beat the Trojans, it is hard to envision the Irish defense presenting any real opposition to the high-powered Trojan offense.  The Irish defense has proven to be porous and soft (96^th in total defense) with ineffective blitzing schemes that rarely reach the objective (52^nd in tackles for loss).

The Irish offense will face the most powerful opponent of the schedule when they line up against the Trojans defense (fifth against the run/total defense and second in tackles for loss); in facing such an opponent, the Irish can simply become a too-predictable, one-dimensional passing team with ruinous consequences.

This game will be winnable if the right schemes and execution take place; it will be a real challenge for Coach Weis, as he will have to show his ability to design an effective game plan and to motivate his players to execute perfectly in each and every aspect.

Nobody doubts the abilities and precision of Jimmy Clausen, but he will not be able to find an open receiver if the line does not protect, and the mix of plays will not keep the Trojans defense honest.

The defensive team will have to rise to the occasion, and show determination and hunger for the ball.  As they did on the three goal-line stands against the Huskies, the defensive team will have to be avid and aggressive.  They will have to consider that the Trojan QB is a freshman and create schemes that can, in turn, cause Matt Barkley to make mistakes.  If the Irish keep the emotions high and the game close throughout, there might be a chance for victory.

A victory against the Trojans might bring some respect to the team and for sure will position the Irish among the best 20 teams of the circuit.  Go Irish!