Three Things I Am Praying For This Weekend

Last weekend was the toughest weekend for Notre Dame fans all season. The loss to Navy hurt. The way they lost made it really hurt. They played flat and really beat themselves. In the other two losses to Michigan and USC, I thought the Irish fought hard and played great football and just came up a bit short.

The Navy game was totally different. The Midshipmen looked like they wanted it more. Notre Dame really beat themselves in alot of ways with turnovers and missed field goals. Mistakes like that is a recipe for losing.

This Notre Dame fan like many others is hoping for a much better weekend. For me there are three things that I am praying for that will make this a really good weekend.

The birth of my son

My wife and I are expecting our second son any day now. This obviously comes before anything else. After all, football is just a game. I am just praying that if the birth does occur this weekend, that all goes well and there are no complications.

My son will be named Brady. The reason I chose Brady is really quite simple. I want my boys to be leaders. When I think of a leader, there are two guys that immediately come to mind. That is Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Brady Quinn at Notre Dame. For that reason, Brady is the perfect name.

Notre Dame beats Pittsburgh

After a week of hearing about how Charlie Weis is soon to be fired and how the team is still not very good, a victory over the Panthers would make me feel alot better. I am not sure it erases the Navy loss but it will go a long way in changing the perception of where Notre Dame is.

I am not sure a win can save Weis's job or if I even want it to. However, I do love all Weis has done for the university and would like to see him go out a winner. I do think he deserves that.

A win will also make me feel happy for Lou Holtz who can stick it to Mark May.

This past week I have been very hard on Jimmy Clausen. I know he threw for over 400 yards but his two redzone turnovers really hurt. To his credit, he did take responsibility for the loss. He said that turning the ball over is not bad coaching, it is bad playing. I give him credit for saying that, but now he has to redeem himself on the field.

Looking at this matchup, I think Notre Dame can shock the world and pull off the win. Pittsburgh has an impressive record but they really don't have an impressive win yet. They haven't played Cincinnati or West Virginia yet. Unlike Notre Dame they did beat Navy.

However, they did lose to NC State who got hammered by Boston College. Just a reminder Notre Dame got the Boston College monkey off their backs.

There are really two keys to victory for Notre Dame. The first one is the offensive line protecting Clausen. If they do, he can get the ball to his weapons (Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Armando Allen). It won't be easy against the defense that leads the nation in sacks, but the return of Trevor Robinson will help.

The other key matchup involves two true freshmen. That is Manti Te'o against Dion Lewis. If Te'o and the rest of the defense can shut Lewis down, it will force the Panthers into passing situations. That won't be easy though since Lewis already has 1139 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

Brady Quinn

The third thing I am praying for this weekend is Brady Quinn. He has regained his starting position with the Cleveland Browns. As a Notre Dame fan, it was hard for me to watch him struggle early in the year after all he did for Notre Dame.

He really is in a bad situation with that team. The team is arguably the worst and Eric Mangini may be the worst coaching hire ever. His offensive coordinator is Brian Daboll and he looks clueless.

The offense around him is just awful. He has an All-Pro left tackle in Joe Thomas and a somewhat decent rookie receiver in Mohamed Massaquoi. Needless to say he doesn't have much to work with. To make matters worse, he is going up against Ray Lewis and company as the Browns play the Baltimore Ravens.

I know the whole city of South Bend is rooting for him to be an NFL success as are Notre Dame fans everywhere. Unfortunately, he is fighting for his NFL life right now and has very little help around him. I just hope the football gods are kinder on him this time around.

For that reason Quinn deserves to be in the prayers of Notre Dame fans this weekend.

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