October 2008 Entries
Hard to believe that this is Notre Dame's first home game in a month and its first interesting game in three weeks. It's also sort of surprising that the Irish are still looking for a victory over a team with a winning record (though Stanford is .500), given the names on the schedule. Trust me, the players are aware of this last fact.
I think Pittsburgh is the type of solid-but-not-spectacular team that the Irish should be able to beat at home for the rest of Charlie Weis' tenure. If Notre Dame's serious about being a national championship-level team, these are...
"Born to Run" two weeks in a row? You're slipping, Charlie. By the way, do you think anyone would mind if we substituted the Talk Talk song called "It's My Life" instead of the Bon Jovi tune by the same name, just to get some New Wave played at football practice? That would be awesome.
We don't often see assistant head coach for defense Jon Tenuta hanging out with the offense, but he paused for a brief conversation with Evan Sharpley this afternoon. Tenuta, however, didn't offer Sharpley — or anyone else — some of his grape-flavored Big League Chew. One...
Nothing like a game against Washington to pad your stats. Check out where Notre Dame was last week and where the Irish are this week in a few NCAA-ranked statistics:
Total offense: Last week — 58th; this week — 45th.
Total defense: Last week — 75th; this week — 41st.
Scoring defense: Last week — 41st; this week — 33rd.
Rushing offense: Last week — 108th; this week — 91st.
Rushing defense: Last week — 60th; this week — 41st.
Passing defense: Last week — 87th; this week — 68th.
Passing efficiency defense: Last week — 28th; this week — 25th.
Sacks: Last week — 100th; this week...
Charlie Weis basically did our jobs for us at the start of practice today: "Olsen's here, Stewart's here, Grimes is here ... Who else? Smith is here ..." So there's the injury report for you.
Also on hand, as always, was Keith Penrod. "Some things you just can't do anything about," Weis said in jest.
And here's a first: There was an Allegiant Air jet flying very low over the practice field on its way to South Bend Regional Airport. It was uncomfortably close to the ground — so much so that the players and coaches all paused to look up at...
It was windy, wet and 39 degrees at practice time this afternoon, so while they could have played the World Series on Notre Dame's campus Tuesday, it wasn't nice enough for the Irish football team to practice outdoors.
There were a couple of notable absences on the offensive line — starting guards Eric Olsen, who rolled his ankle at Washington, but returned to the game; and Chris Stewart, whose injury isn't known to me at the moment. With Sam Young, Mike Turkovich and Dan Wenger all sitting out one drill, the line was, from left tackle to right tackle: Matt Romine,...
This is the best stadium setting in college football. And the boats haven't even started gathering on the lake yet.
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis went to Friday night's game between Skyline and Redmond high schools to watch Skyline junior quarterback Jake Heaps, who completed 10-of-16 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns in Skyline's 41-6 victory.
Here's the Seattle Times story on the game, and a more detailed recap from IrishIllustrated.com.
I'm going to get this out of the way tonight since I'll be traveling tomorrow. Usually I talk about how I think the game will unfold, but this week, I want to list some statistics that I hope back up my conclusion:
• Washington is averaging 17.7 points per game and allowing 40.7.
• Washington ranks 95th in the nation in total offense and 106th in rushing offense (OK, so that's still better than Notre Dame).
• Washington is allowing 16.7 yards per punt return. That's more than a first down and a half.
• Washington is allowing teams to gain 483 yards per...
David Ruffer, the walk-on kicker who joined Notre Dame's football team last week, has impressed coaches enough that he'll be traveling to Saturday's game at Washington, coach Charlie Weis said Thursday afternoon.
Brandon Walker will still be Notre Dame's field goal and extra-point kicker against the Huskies, but if he struggles, or if the Irish get "enough kicking opportunities" (read: it's a blowout), Ruffer will get a chance.
"I'd love to put him out there, but it has to be the right situation," Weis said.
Weis called Ruffer "the longest of longshots." But considering the shakiness of the Notre Dame kicking situation, it's...
Sunny and gorgeous again at Notre Dame for today's football practice. Hate to sound like a broken record with these weather reports, but it really has been a nice week.
Speaking of broken records, more Springsteen ("Born in the USA," "Born to Run"), Bon Jovi ("Keep the Faith") and Pastor Troy ("Crank Me Up") from the loudspeakers, plus a pretty good new tune — "Put On" by Young Jeezy and Kanye West.
A few observations through the noise:
• David Grimes was on the field again and was catching passes in a low-impact kind of drill. We'll get an update on him soon...
Another sunny day in northern Indiana, and the sun helped negate the 50-degree temperature and biting wind at the LaBar Practice Complex.
Paul Duncan, one day removed from hip surgery, was on the practice field on crutches, watching the offensive linemen go through their drills. Wide receiver David Grimes, who's doubtful for Saturday's game against Washington, was there, too.
Terrail Lambert and Raeshon McNeil must've been distracted by an interesting conversation during stretching, because they were one stretch behind everybody else. When strength coach Ruben Mendoza blew his whistle for the players to huddle up, Lambert went into the final stretching move...
If you read last week's Tuesday practice recap, you read about the heated conversations between wide receiver Golden Tate and cornerback Robert Blanton, two of the most confident guys on the Notre Dame roster.
Here's Tate's take on facing Blanton, who, though just a freshman, is already trash-talking at a graduate level.
"Robert Blanton ... what a character. I think I speak for all of us — we love the guy to death outside the locker room, but on the field, he will give you so much trouble. You might catch a pass; he's still going to talk to you. I caught...
Brilliantly sunny and 52 degrees in northern Indiana as Notre Dame regrouped after the bye week and practiced in preparation for Saturday's game at Washington, where (fingers crossed) the weather is also supposed to be pretty nice this weekend. I know — I just jinxed it.
Charlie Weis seemed a little less steady on his injured knee than he has been lately, but he was in good spirits, as was the rest of the team, which seemed to be glad to be back in the swing of things.
New phrase today for the breaking of the post-stretching huddle: "Fast start!" We'll...
A few Notre Dame injury updates as we begin Washington week:
• Offensive lineman Paul Duncan had surgery this morning to repair cartilage on his hip and is out for the season. "Everything went well," according to coach Charlie Weis. Duncan, who was backing up Eric Olsen at left guard, hasn't played this season, so he should be eligible for a fifth year.
• Wide receiver David Grimes is doubtful for Saturday's game at Washington with the back spasms that have hampered him for most of the season.
"Sometimes when you have these spasms, they do things to try to get the spasms...
The last three Notre Dame football coaches will be at Husky Stadium in Seattle Saturday night with Charlie Weis coaching the Irish, Tyrone Willingham coaching Washington and Bob Davie calling the game for ESPN2 with Mark Jones and Todd Harris.
Boy, I'd like to sit in on a conversation with those three guys.
... for Ty Bowl 2 in Seattle Saturday, according to the UW Web site.
You couldn't pick a better place to see a game.
This might be the highest preseason ranking I've seen yet for the Notre Dame men's basketball team: No. 3, according to the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Notre Dame's football coaching staff will be making about half of its in-season recruiting visits over the next few days.
Irish coaches will make two visits today, seven on Friday, seven on Saturday and four on Sunday.
Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd's amazing start hasn't gone unnoticed nationally. He's on the Rivals.com freshman All-America team.
Irish safety David Bruton, meanwhile, was named to CollegeFootballNews.com's honorable mention midseason All-America team.
It was pouring down rain this afternoon, so the Irish took it indoors to the Loftus Center for their brief Wednesday practice.
Dayne Crist has a knee brace on his left knee — as does his coach, Charlie Weis.
I didn't see Jappy Oliver with the defensive linemen, but Patrick Graham was filling in very nicely, telling Brandon Newman he's too slow coming off the ball. Pat Kuntz and Emeka Nwankwo were sitting out the drill I watched.
Like I said yesterday, some of the regulars are taking it a little easier this week. Jimmy Clausen, for instance, wasn't throwing during one...
Charlie Weis gave those of us who showed up for practice Tuesday an extra 40 minutes of viewing time, so it's a super-sized version of "20 Minutes" today.
No Will Yeatman at practice, and I think we know why.
Weis pointed out the "prima donnas" who weren't wearing pads and taking it a little easy in practice: Jimmy Clausen, David Grimes, David Bruton, Maurice Crum, Pat Kuntz, Justin Brown, Mike Turkovich and Terrail Lambert. Lambert had a cast on his left wrist - probably not anything that would keep him out of action, but a new injury nonetheless.
You could tell immediately that...
First off, here's the view from my seat:
There's a lot of hoopla in Chapel Hill for this game, although it seems to be that way anywhere Notre Dame comes to town. One of the ticket sellers on a street corner said this game is comparable to a UNC-Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium in terms of ticket demand, and if that's true, I'm impressed. There are plenty of Irish fans around town, and they're probably driving up ticket demand, too. I saw several members of the Blanton and Allen family at the Notre Dame player will call window earlier this...
Linebacker/safety Zeke Motta is Notre Dame's 16th verbal commitment from the Class of 2009, according to several recruiting services.
He's rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, which pegs him as the nation's most physical safety.
Hey, guess what songs I heard today? If you said "Crank Me Up," along Bon Jovi's "It's My Life," well, you've been paying attention. The music was blasting from the fieldside speakers again Thursday, as Notre Dame practiced under sunny skies for the last time before leaving for North Carolina for Saturday's game against the Tar Heels.
We had some switcheroos during stretching, with David Bruton and David Grimes taking each other's spots in the line — Bruton warmed up with the offense (stretching with walk-on receiver Michael Garcia) and Grimes with the defense (safety Sergio Brown).
As usually happens on Thursdays,...
Brandon Walker won Notre Dame’s kicking competition and will handle the field goals and extra points again Saturday at North Carolina.
Ryan Burkhart was given all the kicks in Tuesday’s practice and Walker all the kicks Wednesday, and the competition “wasn’t close,” according to Notre Dame director of football media relations Brian Hardin, who relayed coach Charlie Weis’ decision.
Walker is 1-of-7 on field goals and 18-of-18 on extra points this season.
Another chilly day in northern Indiana — 57 degrees when the Irish started their practice at the LaBar Complex. It was also overcast, so they turned the lights on for the start of practice for the first time this fall.
Offensive coordinator Mike Haywood spent the stretching period of practice hobnobbing with the defensive players, and Ron Powlus, as usual, chatted with quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Clausen was stretching out Evan Sharpley, and when Clausen turned around for a different stretch, Powlus moved around, too, so he could look him in the eye.
Before the team broke the huddle, somebody shouted "It's Carolina...
This is the ABC map. If you're in yellow, the Notre Dame game is on ABC.
Here's the ESPN map. Areas in yellow will see the Irish on ESPN. So unless I'm reading these wrong, which is certainly possible, a big chunk of the country won't get Notre Dame, including the West Coast.
Chillier than expected for today's practice (chillier for me, at least, since I was wearing a short-sleeve shirt), which began outdoors at the LaBar Practice Complex and finished inside the Loftus Center because it started to rain.
At least four players were not running backward or laterally during the early part of stretching: Eric Olsen, Chris Stewart, Evan Sharpley and Brian Smith. When someone only runs straight ahead, it's usually a sign of bumps and bruises, though nothing series. All four of those guys will play Saturday, as will linebacker Maurice Crum Jr., who apparently has a bit of a shoulder...
Notre Dame left tackle Mike Turkovich left Saturday's game with what appeared to be a pretty serious leg injury, but coach Charlie Weis said Turkovich "handed in" his crutches and brace today and will be set to go for practice on Monday.
The X-rays Turkovich had after the game were negative, Weis said.
As bulletin board material goes, Chris Marinelli's comments this week are among the dumbest I've seen. But they're not why I think the Irish will beat the Cardinal this afternoon. (Though they don't help.)
Stanford's pass defense is its biggest problem, and I think a confident Jimmy Clausen is ready to take advantage of the Cardinal there. (So are Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph and everyone Clausen will be targeting today.) Stanford has been able to get a pretty good pass rush going this year (15 sacks), but pass-blocking is something the Irish seem to do well, and I think...
Another "Crank Me Up" Thursday at Notre Dame, with the music blaring inside the Loftus Center once again.
Will Yeatman was again at practice, and coach Charlie Weis told us afterward that his status is "still pending" for Saturday's game against Stanford. Luke Schmidt is still out with a concussion, and it doesn't sound like he'll be back anytime soon. During one offensive line rep, Taylor Dever was next to Sam Young at the right end of the line, which is something I believe we saw last week.
The father of Eric Olsen was at practice today with some of his buddies...
Though it was chilly (55 degrees) and ominous clouds hung over the LaBar Practice Complex, Notre Dame worked out outdoors in preparation for Saturday's game against Stanford.Receivers coach Rob Ianello told his group, "It's gonna be a rough Wednesday," and that backed up everything else I saw on the field, as the coaches must have decided beforehand that they were going to "be mean" to the players. That's the way it works sometimes.Offensive line coach John Latina carpet-bombed his guys with F-bombs in a stream of profanity that would make Jon Tenuta blush. Among the things Latina said that were...
Though it was chilly (55 degrees) and ominous clouds hung over the LaBar Practice Complex, Notre Dame worked out outdoors in preparation for Saturday's game against Stanford.Receivers coach Rob Ianello told his group, "It's gonna be a rough Wednesday," and that backed up everything else I saw on the field, as the coaches must have decided beforehand that they were going to "be mean" to the players. That's the way it works sometimes.Offensive line coach John Latina carpet-bombed his guys with F-bombs in a stream of profanity that would make Jon Tenuta blush. Among the things Latina said that were...