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TEN MONTHS for this?
Notre Dame fans have been anxiously awaiting the start of the 2008 football season. The Fighting Irish Nation has endured the burden of a dismal 3-9 record since last November.
But the new season brought with it the hope of brighter days.
A much more friendly schedule, another great recruiting class, the addition of defensive guru Jon Tenuta from Georgia Tech and a year’s maturation for starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen all added up to possibly an 8- or 9-win season for the fourth edition of Charlie Weis’ Golden Domers.
Setting the opening-day table was cupcake San Diego State. The Aztecs, making their first-ever trip to South Bend, lost a week prior to Cal-Poly, 29-27. That is right: Cal-Poly, which plays its home games in an 8,500-seat stadium.
San Diego State is coached by former Iowa quarterbacking great Chuck Long. Anyone watching the game at Notre Dame Stadium was hard-pressed to believe that these Aztecs lost to Cal-Poly.
The inept Irish paddled upstream all day long and dodged what would have been a fourth-quarter fatal bullet in escaping with a lackluster, 21-13, win, which left many ND fans feeling like they had lost.
The Aztecs were on the threshold of pulling one of the biggest stunners in years, leading 13-7 midway through the final chapter and in possession at the Irish one. However, the football gods smiled kindly on the Irish, and what could have been a clinching Aztec score was fumbled into the end zone.
The costly turnover resulted in two late Notre Dame touchdowns to avert a major embarrassment.
Long said after the game he did not know if Notre Dame was a better team than Cal-Poly. Ouch!
Despite the triumph, the heat that Weis has been feeling from last year definitely went up several degrees.
This Saturday may prove his watershed moment at Notre Dame.
The Irish host an equally unimpressive Michigan team. The Wolves of Rich Rodriguez are 1-1, losing to Utah before posting a 16-6 win over Miami of Ohio.
A victory over Michigan and the Irish have the schedule in place to run off an impressive season as such lightweights as Syracuse, Stanford, Washington, North Carolina and Navy are on the 2008 docket. Toss in Purdue and Pitt and many victories are on the table IF the Irish live up to their pre-season hype.
That was not the case Saturday, however. Not even remotely close.
Some of the ills that plagued the Irish last year reared their ugly heads again against the outmanned Aztecs. The offensive line, which yielded an NCAA record 58 sacks a year ago, was definitely outplayed. The Domers managed a mere 100 yards rushing. Totally unacceptable.
The defense which failed to deliver pressure on opposing quarterbacks a year ago, repeated such inadequacies against San Diego State.
Moreover, Weis prides himself as being an offensive guru. Since the departure of Brady Quinn, he has been anything but. Against San Diego State, the ND offense featured no flow or rhythm. Play calling was questionable at best.
Weis has some playmakers at his disposal. Clausen for one. Freshman wideout Michael Floyd — one of the top recruits in the nation — landed one pass. Classmate Kyle Rudolph — a stud of a tight end at 6 ft 6, 252 pounds — was reduced to the role of spectator in the ND passing scheme.
Under Weis’ watch, the Irish exhibit little passion, much too stoic for the college game.
It may be just game two of the season, but Weis’ future at Notre Dame will greatly be shaped with how he deals with the Wolverines knocking at his door.
GOLDEN NUGGETS
THE NOTRE DAME 1953 national champion football team was honored at the school’s pep rally Friday and again at the game Saturday. A Martins Ferry High prep phenom was a member of that team. Bobby Joseph did the extra-point kicking for the Irish in that 9-0-1 season while also serving as a backup running back. Joseph made it back for the festivities. Notre Dame finished second after the regular-season polls in 1953 behind Maryland but was recognized by 10 media affiliates as national champs following the Terps’ bowl loss.
THIS WAS the first Notre Dame game which I viewed from the sidelines instead of the pressbox. Timing is everything as I stood next to Joe Montana and Jerome Heavens. Montana, whose son is a freshman walk-on quarterback with the Irish, said little during the game, keeping to his self. Heavens, the running star of ND’s 1977 national title team, is quite the opposite as he and I had an ongoing dialogue most of the second half. He now resides in Chicago and says his body hurts every day from his football career.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES
AFTER WATCHING Bellaire’s Nate Davis Friday night against Navy, and Clausen Saturday, I may be biased but Nate is the better of the two quarterbacks, both in productivity now and NFL potential.
Nate came up big again in a 35-23 Ball State win. He tossed for four TD passes and 326 yards. Nate now has 6,258 passing yards in his Ball State career, 13 stripes shy of the school standard.
The former Big Reds’ star brings more big-play potential to the table while presenting a better pocket presence. Clausen has also failed to deliver the leadership needed in a quarterback, often appearing aloof to his teammates. No such problem with Nate.
ONE RULE that must be changed is the celebration rule. It was applied twice in idiotic fashion this weekend. Nate was flagged in the Ball State win after he scrambled for a first down and simply spun the ball on the turf. The ball stayed in place, but he was still assessed 15 yards.
The killer penalty was called against Washington quarterback Jake Locker after he ran in for a late fourth-quarter touchdown, drawing the Huskies to within 28-27 of BYU. His unabashed joy had him tossing the ball harmlessly in the air. The 15 yards resulted in a 35-point PAT try which failed and Washington ended up losing by one.
The rule needs to be abolished or legislated with some common sense.
URBAN MEYER flashed his renegade side in Florida’s win over rival Miami. The Gators were on top 22-3 with just minutes remaining. Meyer opted not to run out the clock, deciding instead to have Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow pass Florida down the field into scoring position. Meyer’s final touch of NO class came when he had his Gators kick a needless field goal with just ticks left on the clock in the 25-3 triumph. Meyer obviously knows how to win football games. He just needs to learn the proper way to do so.
Kapral may be reached at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com.