Notre Dame Football 2010 Schedule: A Complete Breakdown
Brian Kelly is looking to restore this team back to prominence in his first year as head coach of the Irish. After a 6-6 bowless season in 2009, Notre Dame fans are now craving a return to postseason play.
Kelly already has his first win as Irish head coach under his belt after defeating Purdue last Saturday. Now the coach will be trying to repeat that feat in the eleven remaining games of the season.The slate has a lot of quality tough opponents on it, and it certainly won't be an easy road for Kelly in his first year.
Let's take a look at how Notre Dame's schedule shapes up for the remainder of the season.
September 4th: Notre Dame 23 Purdue 12
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Brian Kelly took home his first win as Notre Dame's head coach with his team's 23-12 victory over Purdue in the season opener.
Kelly's high powered offensive attack surprisingly included a full scale rushing component. Running Backs Armando Allen and Cierre Woods rushed for 151 yards on a combined 25 carries. In total, Kelly called a total of just 26 passing plays.
His offense was efficient - totaling 358 yards (205 passing, 153 rushing), and the defense was dominant for the most part as they stymied the Purdue offense, which actually held a ten minute advantage in time of possession.
The touchdowns were scored by Armando Allen in the first quarter, and WR TJ Jones in the third quarter.
September 11th: MICHIGAN
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The Irish came up short to Rich Rodriguez and Michigan in last season’s match up after a Tate Forcier touchdown pass put the Wolverines up 38-34 with eleven seconds to go. That game took place at the Big House in Michigan which should be noted because the home team has come out on top in nine out of the last eleven contests between these two schools.
This year, the key for the Notre Dame defense will be stopping Michigan’s explosive quarterback Denard Robinson. The sophomore had over 350 total yards of offense in the Wolverines' season opening win against UCONN.
For the offense, it will be about Dayne Crist and his strong group of receivers exposing a Michigan secondary that had some question marks entering the season after the loss of starting cornerback Troy Woolfolk to injury.
This would be an important victory for both coaches involved, so it's to be expected that both teams will come into this one prepared to play and prepared to win.
September 18th: @Michigan State
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Notre Dame has fallen in two out of the last three games against Michigan State and things aren't shaping up to be any easier this time around. The Spartans look to be one of the most undervalued teams in the Big Ten conference this season.
Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins has strong tools as a passer, and he has a dangerous weapon in newly focused senior wide receiver Mark Dell. The offense also has two running backs - Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell, who each rushed for over 100 yards in the season opener.
On defense, Michigan State has a havoc causing disruptor in the middle in the form of 6‘3 300 lb. defensive tackle Jerel Worthy. The sophomore lineman helps free up other players like linebacker Greg Jones to make plays and roam around and cause havoc.
In last year’s match up, the Spartans were so successful because they were able to drive the ball with good consistency as they picked up key first downs with great regularity. The task for Notre Dame this year is to keep Michigan State’s offense off balance and keep them from holding on to the ball for long periods of time.
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September 25th: STANFORD
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Stanford was able to pull out a 45-38 victory in last year’s contest, which would end up being Charlie Weis’ last game as Notre Dame head coach. It was the school’s first victory in the last eight meetings between these two.
In that game, Stanford was able to compile nearly 500 yards of total offense behind a balanced dose of running back Toby Gerhart and quarterback Andrew Luck. Luckily for the Irish, Gerhart is off to the NFL.
Luck, a second year starter with a lot of ability, is the type of quarterback that has the talent to beat you by himself even though he hasn’t gotten the chance to prove it yet.
On offense, the Cardinal are a formidable and strong looking group. The offensive line is one of the best in the Pac 10 and even though there may not be a standout skill position player, there are bunch of guys who can pose problems for any defense.
The key for Notre Dame will be to attack Stanford’s 3-4 front with a consistent running game. If the Irish want to pull out a victory in this one, they are going to need strong outings from running backs Armando Allen and Cierre Wood.
October 2nd: @Boston College
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It’s no secret what Boston College wants to do to beat you - run the ball and play great defense.
The formula has worked for the Eagles in recent times, and it’s helped them come up with wins against the Irish two out of the last three years.
The key for Notre Dame in this year’s match up will be to get the Eagles out of their element. The Irish have to contain running back Montel Harris and force Dave Shinskie to try and win the game with his arm. In last year's victory, they forced Shinskie to throw the ball 35 times, his highest output of the season.
If they can do that, it will give them their best shot at winning.
October 9th: PITT
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The last time Pittsburgh traveled to South Bend, they ended up coming away with an exciting 36-33 victory in a wild contest that involved four overtimes.
Needless to say - Notre Dame is hoping the outcome will be different in this one.
The Panthers are breaking in a new signal caller this year, sophomore Tino Sunseri, who showed some signs of weakness in the team’s opening game at Utah. The key for Notre Dame will be to force Sunseri to make mistakes, and capitalize on them when he does so.
This Pittsburgh team has some great weapons in running back Dion Lewis and wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin, but if Notre Dame can keep Sunseri off balance, then that should greatly diminish the rhythm of tPITT's offense.
When the Irish are on offense, the burden will fall on the offensive line to really control the tempo of the game. They will have to make sure they slow down PITT's two skilled pass rushing defensive ends - Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus.
October 16th: WESTERN MICHIGAN
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This is shaping up to be one of the easiest tests for Notre Dame all season, but they have to be careful not to overlook this potential sandwich game.
Head Coach Brian Kelly knows Western Michigan well from the time he spent coaching at Central Michigan. Kelly knows Bill Cubit is a quality coach, who always has his players ready to play.
The Broncos will likely want to run the ball a lot in this one and keep the ball out of the hands of Dayne Crist and the Irish offense.
October 23rd: Navy (East Rutherford, NJ)
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Navy’s triple option attack looks to once again be potent and problematic with talented senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs back to run the show for one more year.
It’s no secret what Coach Ken Niumatalolo is going to try and do to win the game. He’s going to run the ball right at the Irish defense and force them to stop the option. The Midshipmen only threw the ball twice in last year’s meeting.
Navy’s offense has proved troublesome in the past, but this Irish front seven could be the sturdiest we’ve seen in years. The key player in this one could be inside linebacker Manti Te’o, who will be given the task of reading and reacting to what Navy is doing offensively.
October 30th: TULSA
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This will be the first meeting between these two schools.
Tulsa is a team that ran the ball a lot last season (nearly 40 times a game), but they also have the weapons to air it out. Quarterback GJ Kinne is a former Texas transfer who has a nice arm. And Wide Receivers Trae Johnson and Damaris Johnson are two of the best in Conference USA.
Their offense moves quick, and sometimes it can prove difficult for a defense to try and keep up. Kinne should be the main focus of the defense. He’s a threat to run or pass, and his mobility makes him a tough quarterback to prepare for.
This is the game before Notre Dame’s bye week so the Irish would like a nice performance in this one to use as momentum as they prepare for the late stretch run of the season.
November 13th: UTAH
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Notre Dame has not fared well in November in recent seasons so it will be crucial for the Irish to come into this one prepared to perform.
Utah may be the best of the non-BCS bunch after Boise State and TCU. They are a solid, well coached, fundamentally sound team that never seems to make many glaring mistakes.
They also have the benefit of a lot of talented players.
It starts with quarterback Jordan Wynn and trickles down from there. Wynn is an intelligent decision maker, who has a knack for coming up with a big pass play. He’s a hard player to rattle, but at just 6‘1 200 lb., he can be worn down if you hit him enough.
The Utah defense has holes that can be exposed, but the Utes do have a talented cornerback in Brandon Burton, who will take away at least one of Notre Dame’s receivers for the better part of the game.
That means someone else will have to step up and make plays in the passing game.
This will be a true test to see if the Irish are disciplined enough to limit their mistakes against a smart and sound squad like Utah.
November 20th: Army (New York City)
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This will be the first football game ever played at the New Yankee Stadium. These two teams used to meet regularly at the old Yankee Stadium from the 1920s up through the 1940s. Notre Dame hasn’t lost to Army since 1958. Although, this will be one of the most experienced and talented teams that Army has fielded in quite some time.
The Black Knights do not utilize the traditional wishbone option attack that other service schools like Navy and Air Force employ. Instead they use more traditional offensive sets.
There is a wide gap in talent between these two teams, but expect Army coach Rich Ellerson to have his team ready to play hard.
November 27th: @USC
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This is the first time in a while that USC enters the season as a relatively unknown commodity.
Lane Kiffin’s new look group showed some good things offensively in the first game of the season at Hawaii, but they also dealt with some mighty big struggles on defense.
Quarterback Matt Barkley is one of the best players in the country but he leads a young offense with a lot of inexperience at the skill positions.
On defense, the front seven is the strong point for the Trojans - especially the talented defensive line, but the secondary will likely struggle throughout the season.
It’s hard to predict just what kind of Trojans team we’ll see at the end of the year because so much can change over the next couple of months.
One things for sure though, as long as Barkley is in at quarterback, then defeating USC in the LA Coliseum will prove to be a tough task for Notre Dame.
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