September 2009 Entries
Notre Dame football players realize they’re under a microscope. Kyle McCarthy and Darius Fleming are just the latest to have their “mistakes” be put in the media for all to see.
McCarthy was singled out by the ESPN announcers calling the game as the reason Purdue’s Jaycen Taylor broke wide-open on the pass that gave the Boilermakers the lead late in the fourth quarter last Saturday. Thing is, it wasn’t McCarthy’s fault, according to coach Charlie Weis. But once it was said on TV, everyone blamed McCarthy.
“I know that I didn’t get any phone calls saying, ‘Good game.’ They were all...
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen said Wednesday that his injured toe was feeling good and “getting better every single day” — but thinks the injury will continue to nag him for the rest of the season.
“I don’t think I’ll be 100 percent healthy until the end of the season or after the season,” Clausen said during his weekly press conference. “Next week is going to be big for me, just getting my rest and resting my toe as much as I can.”
Clausen was referring to Notre Dame’s bye week, which follows Saturday’s game against Washington. Coach Charlie Weis has said...
With a slight drizzle falling and temperatures only in the 50s Tuesday, Notre Dame took it inside to the Loftus Center for this week’s open practice. Here’s the first thing we saw when walked through the door:
So Jimmy Clausen isn’t fully recovered — he also didn’t participate in agility drills — but he’s on his way. Clausen’s right foot did appear to be wrapped on the outside of his shoe, and he had a slight limp, but he should be good for Saturday.
Running back Armando Allen looked just fine, though he had a wrap/brace on his sprained right ankle. Kicker...
Chris Martin, who committed to Notre Dame in February and is the jewel of the current recruiting class, told Rivals.com recently that he remains committed to the Irish but is planning to take a visit to Cal and listen to pitches from Tennessee, USC and Florida.
Martin, who is ranked as the 15th-best player in the country by Rivals, was critical of Notre Dame’s decision to abandon the 3-4 defense for the 4-3. Martin sees himself as an outside linebacker in the 3-4, which Cal uses. At Notre Dame, he’d be a defensive end.
NCAA rules prohibit Irish coach Charlie Weis from...
A couple quick injury updates from Charlie Weis' Sunday evening press conference:
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen's toe was a "lot better" Sunday than it was a week ago, Weis said. Clausen wasn't wearing a protective boot Sunday and won't be as limited in practice next week.
Clausen will get the entire bye week to rest and allow the injury to heal up, though.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” Weis said. “There’s only so much rest you can give him at this time of year. That rest is going to come next week.”
Meanwhile, running back Armando Allen should play next week against Washington...
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was surprised as anyone that Purdue called timeout after Robert Hughes was stopped at the 2-yard line with 36.9 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. The Irish, who had no timeouts left, were going up to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball after the play and win or lose on the fourth-down play.
"It kind of helped us out a little bit right there, because we were going to clock it," Weis said. "When when ran the ball on second down, we thought that we might catch them in their Cover-7 that they...
After watching this Notre Dame team for three weeks — and taking into account the injuries it’s dealing with — it’s hard to imagine another scenario where the Irish breeze to a victory. Over anybody. It’s just shaping up as that kind of season.
Before the season began, I would have pegged tonight’s game as one where the Irish would roll. But with Jimmy Clausen gimpy, Armando Allen even gimpier and Michael Floyd out altogether — not to mention a defense that's looked awful for the most part during the last two games — I’m going with the Boilers in a...
Brian Polian has his players’ attention now.
Last week against Michigan State, Polian, Notre Dame’s special teams coordinator, told the Irish to be ready for an onside kick after the Spartans’ first touchdown of the day. Sure enough, MSU did it and caught Notre Dame’s front line peeling back to block. The Spartans recovered on their own 38, but the Irish defense bailed out the special teams by forcing a turnover.
The recovery was especially frustrating for coach Charlie Weis because the players ignored Polian’s warning.
“The biggest problem I have on that one is I sat there and I listened to Coach...
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen (turf toe) is a go for Saturday’s game at Purdue after practicing Wednesday and Thursday and looking sharp, but running back Armando Allen (sprained ankle) will be a game-time decision, coach Charlie Weis said after Thursday's practice.
Allen practiced some on Thursday, but was limited. He could get 10 to 15 carries on Saturday instead of the 25 he might get if he was healthy, and there are some offensive packages that Notre Dame won’t run if Allen’s not in the game, Weis said. It also will affect how Weis scripts plays for the beginning of the game....
Even though he’s off to a somewhat shaky start, cornerback Darrin Walls’ confidence isn’t shaken.
“I wouldn’t say fragile,” Walls said when asked if that was where he was on the confidence scale. “I’m just working on the things that I’ve done wrong or things I could have done better to make me become better.”
So what’s he done wrong?
“There were a couple times where I lined up too deep or something like that,” Walls said. “You watch the game and correct your mistakes and see what you could have done better. You think about those things and transfer them from that...
Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus knows how Michael Floyd feels right now.
Powlus broke his collarbone before his freshman season at Notre Dame in 1993, then returned to practice a couple months later only to refracture it in the same spot while throwing.
Floyd broke his collarbone last week against Michigan State and is likely out for at least the rest of the regular season.
“It’s very humanizing, if you will. I don’t know if that’s proper English,” Powlus said. “You come in — in my case I came in from doing all the things I did in high school and was playing...
Notre Dame offensive tackle Sam Young has become a fiery player in his senior season.
Maybe too fiery?
Young was whistled for a personal foul last week against Michigan State and also mixed it up with Michigan players the week before in a skirmish that was not flagged. Maybe it’s a sign that nastiness is finally surfacing on the Irish line. But it’s also a fine line to walk.
“Everybody wants an offensive lineman to be aggressive, but where’s the edge to that?” offensive line coach Frank Verducci asked. “Where’s the edge of the envelope? There’s never a good time for a penalty....
Jimmy Clausen (turf toe), Armando Allen (sprained ankle) and Michael Floyd (broken collarbone) all missed Tuesday’s practice at the LaBar Complex, which began under cloudy skies and finished under heavy rain. Things were a little quieter than usual, and the huddle was broken with the shout of “Win!” Guess “Boilermakers!” was too long. Scouts from the Colts and Buccaneers watched the practice despite the absence of three of Notre Dame’s best players.
The defense came out for the pursuit drill in its base alignment, with linemen Kapron Lewis-Moore, Ethan Johnson, Ian Williams and John Ryan; linebackers Brian Smith, Toryan Smith and...
Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd had surgery to repair a broken collarbone Sunday morning and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season, Irish coach Charlie Weis said.
Weis said he thought Floyd would be available if Notre Dame played in a bowl game. Floyd would be eligible for a medical redshirt year if he did not return because his injury occurred in the first third of the season.
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen’s injury is “somewhere between a turf toe and an arch or something like that,” Weis said.
Clausen will have an MRI Sunday but Weis said that unless the...
Here's the alma mater from Saturday:
We’re only in Week 3 and Notre Dame is in must-win mode. It’s never easy around here, is it?
I think there’s a definite sense of urgency with Irish players and coaches going into today’s game against Michigan State, but what’s lacking is a sense of panic, and that’s why I think Notre Dame’s going to win. After a tough loss like last week’s, Irish players were in kind of a tough spot. If they get into a funk, everyone wonders if they’ll be able to shake it by the time the next game comes around. If they don’t, people start...
A typical day for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis starts with a cup of coffee and a bagel between 4:30 and 5 a.m. and ends between 9 and 11 p.m., Weis said at his Thursday afternoon press conference.
"I'm usually the second guy in the building, but I usually leave before most of the assistants, who are here much later than I am," Weis said, "because the job I do and the job they do isn't exactly the same job. I said to the team today that most of the coaches average 17 hours a day."
Director of football operations Chad Klunder...
Notre Dame fullback James Aldridge is "not ready to go" and will likely miss Saturday's game against Michigan State, coach Charlie Weis said after Thursday's practice.
"He's running around good, but I don't think he's ready to hit somebody with that shoulder yet," Weis said.
The news is better for receiver Michael Floyd, who looked "perfectly normal" in practice and running back Armando Allen, who is a go for Saturday.
Reserve offensive lineman Dan Wenger missed Tuesday's practice with a leg infection, but he returned to practice on Wednesday.
“Blitzy” doesn’t have to equal risky when it comes to defense, according to Notre Dame defensive lineman John Ryan.
“I think that’s an easy misconception,” Ryan said Wednesday night. “I don’t think there’s anyone in this room that doesn’t have complete confidence in every call that Coach (Jon) Tenuta makes.”
Tenuta was known for his blitz-heavy defenses long before he came to Notre Dame, and when you blitz, it’s often a big play — sometimes for the defense, sometimes for the offense. Ryan said Tenuta’s scouting and game-planning tip the scales toward the defense.
“I don’t remember this year once being, ‘We shouldn’t...
Brian Smith had to chuckle when a few of his fellow Notre Dame students asked him about how he taunted Michigan before last week’s game in Ann Arbor.
“I never taunted Michigan,” Smith said Wednesday night. “I hyped my teammates up and I said some things to my teammates, but I never once went to Michigan and said something to them.”
It’s a fine line, obviously, between a taunt and something said to get your own teammates fired up, and what Smith said can probably be interpreted as both. Smith was quoted on the ABC telecast as telling his teammates that he...
It’s getting to the point where you can’t refer to Notre Dame’s offensive line as the team’s weakest link anymore.
Lost in the agonizing aftermath of the loss to Michigan at the Big House is the fact that Notre Dame had a strong rushing day against the Wolverines and is 54th in the nation in rushing at 166 yards per game. The highest finish in the Charlie Weis era was 55th place in 2005, when the Irish averaged 147.1 yards per game.
“The team’s going to go as we go,” sophomore right guard Trevor Robinson said. “I feel like it’s a reflection...
The featured attraction at Tuesday’s Notre Dame practice at the LaBar Complex was wide receiver Michael Floyd — and Irish coach Charlie Weis knew it.
“That Michael Floyd, he’s a tough guy,” Weis said loud enough for the media to hear as the players went through stretching. “That’s what all these people want to see — you and Armando.”
Floyd did have a thick wrap on his right knee after getting 15 stitches to close a cut he got during last week’s game at Michigan, but he he moved around well, wasn’t limited according to receivers coach Rob Ianello, and said afterward he’ll...
Notre Dame will honor its newest College Football Hall of Fame inductee and one of its greatest teams during Saturday's game against Michigan State.
Brown, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1987 and was a two-time All-American, was one of 16 former players and two coaches named in April to the 2009 Hall of Fame Class. He's the 43rd former Irish player to be inducted into the Hall.
The 1949 team, led by Heisman winner Leon Hart, went 10-0 and won the national title, beating No. 4 Tulane, No. 10 Michigan State and No. 17 USC along the way. Notre Dame outscored...
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis had some pointed words for the officials who worked Saturday's game at Michigan (including "that game left a lot to be desired"), but more on that in this story.
And because people have asked why Big Ten refs were calling the game instead of officials from the Big East who generally call Notre Dame road games, here's the explanation:
“The deal that Michigan has — Michigan only — Michigan has a deal that nothing but Big Ten officials ever referee at Michigan,” Weis said. “So when we play Michigan here, it’s Big East officials. Michigan’s the only school that...
Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd had to get 15 stitches to sew up a cut on his knee during Saturday's game at Michigan, but he's expected to be ready for next week's game against Michigan State.
Floyd went out of the end zone to try to make a catch and landed on the hard surface that surrounds the turf at Michigan Stadium. Irish coach Charlie Weis said Sunday that Floyd at first thought the bone was exposed and that he might have a career-ending injury, but after he was stitched up, Floyd told Weis he could have played if the game...
You never want to put too much emphasis on one game, but today’s game at the Big House should give us a pretty good idea if Notre Dame has really turned the corner. We’ve seen the Irish put up big numbers in their last two games, but all that really tells us is that they would be a title contender in the WAC. Today they’re playing in a hostile environment against a team with much better athletes that is more than capable of beating them.
Having said that, though, the Irish do seem like the deserving favorite, if only because Notre...
Whether it's because both schools are traditional powers or because both have had great running backs and power-running teams in their history, the tendency is to think of straight-ahead football when you think Notre Dame-Michigan. Now, with Michigan using the spread option and the Irish relying more on a pro-style precision passing game, that's not the case.
The spread never interested Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis as a play-caller, but it's changed the way he recruits.
"I didn't want to go in that direction, but I knew we had to recruit faster guys on defense. That's what I did know," Weis said...
Here it is. (And by the way, the Chicago Invitational Challenge games are at the UIC Pavilion, not at the Sears Centre):
Nov. 1 Lewis (Exhibition), 7 p.m.
Nov. 6 Quincy (Exhibition), 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14 North Florida, 7 p.m.
Nov. 16 St. Francis (Pa.), 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 19 Long Beach State, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 22 Liberty, 2 p.m.
Nov. 24 Kennesaw State, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 27 Northwestern (at UIC Pavilion, Chicago), time TBA
Nov. 28 Iowa State or Saint Louis (at UIC Pavilion, Chicago), TBA
Dec. 1 Idaho State, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 Central Florida, 2 p.m.
Dec. 9 IUPUI, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 12 Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 UCLA, 2 p.m.
Dec....
Here's Notre Dame's conference men's basketball schedule. We already know most of the non-conference games, so I'd expect the final schedule to be out today or tomorrow:
Dec. 30 Providence, time TBA
Jan. 2 at Connecticut, TBA
Jan. 5 at South Florida, TBA
Jan. 9 West Virginia, TBA
Jan. 16 at Cincinnati, TBA
Jan. 18 Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 DePaul
Jan. 27 at Villanova, 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 at Rutgers, 6 p.m.
Feb. 4, Cincinnati, 9 p.m.
Feb. 7 South Florida, TBA
Feb. 11 at Seton Hall, TBA
Feb. 17 at Louisville, 7 p.m.
Feb. 24 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Feb. 27 at Georgetown, noon
March 3 Connecticut, 7 p.m.
March 6 at Marquette, TBA
A win’s a win, we always hear, but 35-0 looks a whole lot better than 35-7 — especially to a defense. And Notre Dame’s defense is taking pride in the program’s first shutout since 2002.
“It’s so hard to do, no matter what team or who it’s against. It’s always a good thing,” linebacker Toryan Smith said. “That was my first shutout I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in college, and it was real big.”
Unlike the victory, the shutout was far from a foregone conclusion. Notre Dame’s defensive starters were out of the game by the fourth quarter, and the...
Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford has a saying he repeats to his players: “Don’t let the last man standing be the one that got you.”
That happened too often last Saturday against Nevada, when Notre Dame’s longest run was 19 yards. Alford thought the Irish were a slipped tackle away from turning some of those short- and medium-yardage carries into big-gainers.
“I think we need to make more big plays,” Alford said Tuesday. “We got tripped up too many times.”
Alford says it’s mostly his fault. That’s why he’s changing up practice this week. Irish running backs are running through rope...
Notre Dame’s most accurate passer spoke to the media on Tuesday.
No, it wasn’t Jimmy Clausen, but rather sophomore backup Dayne Crist, who went 2 for 2 against Nevada last Saturday. Clausen completed a measly 83 percent of his passes as the starter.
“It was nice to get in there and get some live game reps,” Crist said. “It was everything I could ask for and more.”
Coach Charlie Weis told Crist the series before he made his entrance that depending on where Notre Dame got the ball, he’d be inserted into the game in a two-quarterback formation. And sure enough, with 10:39...
Notre Dame began Michigan week with practice at the LaBar Complex under mostly cloudy skies and the thermometer reading 71 degrees. And for the first time this fall, I believe, the offense wore their white practice jerseys and the defense wore blue.
“Did that come with free rebate coupons from Flaming-Hot Cheetos?” receiver Robby Parris asked safety Sergio Brown as they discussed jerseys. I have absolutely no idea what that meant.
There were scouts from the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at practice Tuesday, and they saw a loose Irish team, as you might expect...
You can read Charlie Weis’ complete Sunday press conference here, but if you just want the nuts and bolts, I’ve selected a few choice notes and comments:
INJURIES
Fullback James Aldridge will probably have an MRI on his shoulder after injuring it Saturday. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything they could have gotten done last night after the game,” Weis said.
Head trainer Jim Russ said there wasn’t anything else of significance besides “normal bumps and bruises.”
CLAUSEN
When asked to compare Jimmy Clausen and Brady Quinn at the same point in their careers, Weis said, “I’d have to say, based off of my off-field work...
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen has been nominated for the AT&T All-America player of the week award.
Clausen is up against Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, UCLA safety Rahim Moore and Baylor linebacker Joe Pawelek.
To vote, text ** VOTE to 345345 on your wireless phone. Voting ends at midnight Wednesday and you can vote as often as you'd like.
Here's a short video of Notre Dame's players on the field Saturday singing the alma mater after Saturday's season-opening win over Nevada. I'm sorry that NBC's Alex Flanagan stepped in front of the team a couple times, though I expect there are a number of people out there who won't object to having her in the video as well.
OK, so it's a "show-me" season for Notre Dame, right? Well, here are a few things I would want the Irish to show me in the opener if I was a fan:
1. A touchback on a kickoff. We always hear about how good the kickers are in practice, and the one time the media saw them during camp, Nick Tausch was reaching the end zone. Now do it in a game. Preferably more than once.
2. A running game with some authority. This could be a pass-first day, given Nevada's defensive problems on that side of the ball, but at some...
“We’re looking at Saturday as an opportunity to make a statement. You’re going to make a statement, one way or another. At the end of the game, you guys are all going to have to report what happened in the game. It might as well be positive.”
Notre Dame used its grass practice field the last two days as yet another way to get the team ready for Saturday's opener against Nevada, which of course will be played on the grass field at Notre Dame Stadium.
The offense used the grass field Wednesday and the defense used it Thursday, and all the offense-vs.-defense competition periods and the special teams segments were done on the grass field. Notre Dame's practice complex has three fields — two artificial and one made from the real stuff.
“Our FieldTurf is as good as it gets, the two fields we have, but it’s a...
They were set up together immediately — a match made by NDHarmony — and the relationship between Darrin Walls and Raeshon McNeil seems to be one that’s going to stand the test of time.
The cornerbacks were put in the same room when they arrived at Notre Dame, and they’re still living together as seniors, now at an apartment off-campus.
“We really click on the same level,” McNeil said. “We joke with each other about taking the trash out and paying bills, but our personalities just match together real well. I don’t think I could have found another match like that anywhere...
I bet Mike Anello never expected to be competing with Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy for an award this year, but it's happening.
Anello, Notre Dame's special teams standout, is one of 30 players from around the nation who have been nominated for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, given to a senior who has "notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition."
The field will be narrowed to 10 during the season for the official ballot. Here's the full list of nominees:
Mike Anello, cornerback, Notre Dame
Javier Arenas, cornerback/return specialist, Alabama
Zane Beadles, offensive tackle, Utah
Richie Brockel, fullback, Boise...
Probably not, but just the same, there are still tickets available for Saturday's season-opener against Nevada because the visiting school returned an additional portion of its allotment.
Tickets are $68 each and may be purchased at the Gate 1 ticket window on the second floor of the Joyce Center, by calling (574) 631-7356 or by visiting und.com/tickets.
Notre Dame has sold out 205 consecutive home games dating back to 1973.
Paul Duncan will start at left tackle and Chris Stewart at left guard for Notre Dame Saturday against Nevada, but head coach Charlie Weis and offensive line coach Frank Verducci are already planning to take them out of the game.
Matt Romine, who backs up Duncan, and Dan Wenger, who’s behind Stewart, “deserve” to play and should see action early against the Wolf Pack, Verducci said.
“They’ve worked extremely hard and we really haven’t missed a beat when they’ve been in there, so you have a guideline about when you want to get them in, and we do want to get them...
Robby Parris just keeps showing up on the Notre Dame depth chart.
The Irish have plenty of young talent at wide receiver, but Parris, a senior, has kept himself in the conversation by being the most consistent one in the bunch.
“He’s kind of been a Steady Eddie for us,” receivers coach Rob Ianello said. “Robby has really competed well. He has made plays in team situations. We can put him anywhere we want to put him. He’s separated himself in that regard.”
Parris might have been in danger of slipping out of the coaches’ view, but he’s taken advantage of Golden Tate...
We can only hope the weather is as nice on Saturday as it was Tuesday afternoon for Notre Dame’s only open practice of the week. It was 71 degrees with not a cloud in the sky as the Irish took the field at the LaBar Practice Complex in full pads.
“It’s game week!” someone shouted as warm-ups began. If there’s one thing I’ve learned covering college football, it’s that camp gets old real fast for the players. (And the reporters, too, for that matter.)
Wide receiver Robby Parris looked up at coach Rob Ianello during stretching and said, “It feels like I’ve...
OFFENSE
‘X’ RECEIVER
23 — Golden Tate, 5-11, 195, Jr.
18 — Duval Kamara, 6-5, 219, Jr.
LEFT TACKLE
72 — Paul Duncan, 6-7, 315, 5th-year Sr. OR 77 — Matt Romine, 6-5, 295, Jr.
LEFT GUARD
59 — Chris Stewart, 6-5, 330, Sr. (two seasons of eligibility remaining) OR 51 — Dan Wenger, 6-4, 302, Sr. (two seasons of eligibility remaining)
CENTER
55 — Eric Olsen, 6-4,305, Sr. (final season of eligibility)
51 — Dan Wenger, 6-4, 302, Sr. (two seasons of eligibility remaining)
RIGHT GUARD
78 — Trevor Robinson, 6-5, 305, So.
76 — Andrew Nuss, 6-5, 300, Jr.
RIGHT TACKLE
74 — Sam Young, 6-8, 320, Sr. (final season of eligibility)
75 — Taylor Dever,...
Notre Dame's complete depth chart for Week 1 is coming later today, but for now we can tell you the probable starting lineup for Saturday's season-opener against Nevada.
Of note: Paul Duncan held off Matt Romine for the left tackle job; Raeshon McNeil beat out Darrin Walls at cornerback; and James Aldridge and freshman Theo Riddick are listed as the kickoff returners.
OFFENSE
'X' WR - Golden Tate
LT - Paul Duncan
LG - Chris Stewart
C - Eric Olsen
RG - Trevor Robinson
RT - Sam Young
TE - Kyle Rudolph
'Z' WR - Michael Floyd
QB - Jimmy Clausen
FB - James Aldridge
HB - Armando Allen
DEFENSE
LE - Kapron Lewis-Moore
DT -...