Why Is Notre Dame Playing Washington State at the Alamo?

When Notre Dame's schedule came out, fans looked at the game with Washington State and wrote in a victory. No Irish fan really sees this game as a threat at all.

Realistically, the only thing that really drew attention to Irish fans was the location. The game will be played in San Antonio, Texas.

Why the game is being played there is anyone's guess. My guess is that it has something to do with economics since everything in college football seems to be wallet-driven these days.

Maybe NBC desperately wanted a night game and this was the way to do it.

Regardless of the reason, the fact that it will be played in San Antonio could be a benefit to the Irish.

As fans, we really don't appreciate how stressful it is to be a player on the Notre Dame Football team. Not only are expectations high on the field, but these guys are expected to take real classes and be real students as well.

All the media attention this program gets adds to that stress. These are kids barely out of high school dealing with this. Sometimes the best thing to do is get away from it.

If I were Charlie Weis, I would almost treat this like a mini-bowl game. It is a neutral field and in a historic location.

I remember the last time this group had an opportunity to get away. I was there.

They were playing in the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, going to luaus, and hanging out on the beach. You could tell the stress was really taken off them for a while.

Then how did they respond on game day?

Therefore, I am hoping Weis takes them there a couple days early. Give them a day to go visit the Alamo. That will be a good educational thing for them to do and will serve as stress relief. Of course, Weis could talk about the battle and draw comparisons to the football field.

These kinds of things are more important than fans realize. These activities are where players become a team. It is the bonding away from the field. It worked great last time in Hawaii—it should work again here.

The only drawback is our opponent. It is true that they aren't very good. Notre Dame shouldn't be afraid of a team that got blown out by Hawaii and whose lone victory is an overtime game against SMU.

However, for Washington State this is no mini-bowl. It is the Cougars' bowl game.

All that really means is that the Irish can't take them lightly. If they play their A-game, it won't even be close. That will give Notre Dame an opportunity to work on some areas that need improvement. It is also a chance for some players to get things worked out.

The game plan this week has to involve Dayne Crist. This kid will be the quarterback possibly as early as next year. He needs game experience. I think I share the sentiments of most Domers when I say I was pleased with what he did against Purdue, but he has a lot to work on still.

There are a few players I had big expectations for that have been disappointing lately. The first is Kyle Rudolph. After being the go-to guy late in games early, he has really disappeared the last two weeks.

I expected Robert Blanton to be the shutdown corner for the Irish. So far I think he has only one interception. That was in the first game on a Hail Mary. It is possible that the reason we don't hear Blanton's name as much is because teams are scared to throw at him. Still, it is disappointing not to see him making more impact plays.

Brian Smith had the big interception to clinch the victory over Boston College. Unfortunately, that is about the biggest highlight he has had this year. I really expected him to not only be the leader on defense, but to also be a mentor to Manti Te'o. Instead Te'o has totally outplayed him.

Last year Mike Anello was one of my favorite players. He was the man on a very underrated part of the game (special teams). When is the last time he has made a play on kick coverage this year?

Although the reason is unclear as to why there is a neutral field game here, the Irish need to use it as an opportunity to really take the next step in becoming a really good team. The timing couldn't be better since the stretch run will follow. That run will feature the return of Michael Floyd and a showdown with Pittsburgh.

This article is also posted on http://fightingirishgameday.com/