November 2009 Entries
Notre Dame star wide receiver Golden Tate will sit down with his parents and ex-coach Charlie Weis on Friday to discuss his NFL options, but the wild card in the decision is whoever Notre Dame hires as its next coach, Tate said Monday.
"It's going to make a difference," Tate said. "I don't know which way it'll make a difference. It could make a good difference, a bad difference. I don't know."
Tate said that Notre Dame bringing Weis back wouldn't have assured his return, too, but he "would've leaned more" toward playing his senior season with the Irish if Weis had...
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick first met with the Irish leadership committee, and then the entire team, to gauge interest in playing in a bowl game without coach Charlie Weis, Notre Dame senior associate athletic director John Heisler said Monday afternoon.
No decision has been made.
"Jack met with the leadership group and is interested in getting some input from them on just what they think," Heisler said.
Heisler said the university is still trying to get a sense of what postseason options are available for the 6-6 Irish, and must also "do a little bit of a financial analysis" before committing...
When the season began, Notre Dame wasn't supposed to talk about how good it was – it was going to show us how good it was.
They showed us, all right.
The Irish weren't talking all week — the players and assistant coaches didn't do interviews in order to better focus for the Stanford game, so if they lose, don't blame the media — and they're down to their last chance to show the country they can beat a good team.
Unfortunately for them, this is not a great matchup for Notre Dame. Stanford has a shaky defense, but the Irish haven't been...
It wasn’t hard to spot the focal point of Tuesday’s...
Irish All-American Luke Harangody grabbed the 1,000th rebound of his career Tuesday in Notre Dame's 80-62 victory over Kennesaw State at Purcell Pavilion.
Harangody finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds Tuesday and now has 1,001 rebounds in his career, which ranks him fifth on Notre Dame's all-time list. The top four are Tom Hawkins (1,318), Walter Sahm (1,146), LaPhonso Ellis (1,075) and Robert Whitmore (1,043).
The Irish (5-0) pulled away after Kennesaw State (2-2) closed to within three points early in the second half.
Tim Abromaitis added 14 points off the bench for the Irish, while another reserve, Carleton Scott, had seven...
Notre Dame scored the last eight points of the first half to take a 33-24 lead over visiting Kennesaw State here at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish held the Owls scoreless for the last 5 1/2 minutes of the half to earn some breathing room.
Luke Harangody has a double-double — 16 points and 11 rebounds — already for the 23rd-ranked Irish, who are trying to improve to 5-0 on the season. Ben Hansbrough, who looks much better playing on his injured ankle than he did Sunday, has five points.
Matt Heramb leads the balanced Owls with five points.
Notre Dame is shooting 41...
According to Notre Dame's media relations staff, no Irish players or coaches will be available for interviews this week.
"We understand this is somewhat out of the ordinary but the intent is simply to give our players and coaches every opportunity to focus on our final regular-season game at Stanford," said football media relations director Brian Hardin.
Transcribed quotes from select players and coaches will be distributed later this evening, Hardin said.
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who was reportedly punched in the face outside CJ's Pub in South Bend hours after the Irish lost to Connecticut last week, will be available for the regular-season finale at Stanford.
"Jimmy will practice today and he'll be starting against Stanford," coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday afternoon.
Weis refused to answer any other questions about the incident, saying, "It's Stanford week."
Halfback Armando Allen, meanwhile, is likely out for Saturday's game.
"Armando cracked a bone in his right hand and he's going to get it fixed today, which would leave him probably out for this game," Weis said.
The majority...
Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate has been named one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to college football's top wide receiver.
Tate will be competing for the award with Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes and Texas' Jordan Shipley.
Among Football Bowl Subdivision receivers, Tate ranks second to Barnes in total touchdowns and scoring. He's tied for third in touchdown receptions and ranks fourth in receiving yards and receiving yards per game. Tate stands eighth in total receptions, ninth in receptions per game and all-purpose yards and is 10th in yards per catch.
The winner of the award will be announced...
Notre Dame's men's baskeball team is back in the Associated Press Top 25 after a 4-0 start to the season.
The Irish landed at No. 23 in this week's rankings following wins over North Florida, St. Francis (PA), Long Beach State and Liberty. They aren't ranked in this week's coaches poll.
Notre Dame is back in action Tuesday at home against Kennesaw State.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award announced its three finalists Monday, and Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen didn't make the cut.
The finalists are Houston's Case Keenum, Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow.
It's another rerun of the Luke Harangody show tonight at Purcell Pavilion.
Harangody has 20 points — 10 from the free-throw line — as Notre Dame has a 47-39 lead over Liberty at halftime. Harangody is 4 of 7 from the floor (2 of 2 from 3-point range) and 10 of 10 from the line. Tim Abromaitis has nine points off the bench for the Irish, who are looking to improve to 4-0. Of the eight Notre Dame players to see action in the first half, the only one not to score is freshman Joey Brooks, who missed two free-throw attempts.
Patrick...
Charlie Weis said Sunday afternoon that he won't resign as Notre Dame's football coach, but added he would "have a tough time arguing" if the university chose to fire him.
"You know something? If they decide to make a change, I'd have to say I'd have a tough time arguing with that," Weis said. "Because 6-5 isn't good enough, especially when you've lost five games by a touchdown or less and several three-point games right down to the wire. My intent is to be here. But if that were the rationale, it would be tough for me to argue with that...
I think we all have the feeling that today's going to be Charlie Weis' last home game as coach of the Irish. No matter how the game goes, it would be nice to see fans be respectful toward Weis, who has worked tirelessly at the job over the last five years, and the players, who have put in nearly as much time. But then again, I was here last year when people threw snowballs at the Notre Dame bench, so I'm not expecting great sportsmanship.
As far as the game goes, I'm looking for another close one, which would be fitting...
With it being the last home game of the season, I’m going to spotlight some of Notre Dame’s seniors this week in the blog. Here are some comments from defensive lineman John Ryan:
On his speech to the team this week: “I just took time to thank the guys. It’s the relationships that you build here that make this place special. It’s the people, whether it’s the people who work in the cafeteria, your professors, those are the people that make this place what it is, and this place is still going to be the same way long after we’re gone....
Ben Turk will likely start off Saturday's game as Notre Dame's punter, coach Charlie Weis said Thursday evening, and Nick Tausch will be back in his regular role as kicker after missing last week's game with an injury sustained during warmups. David Ruffer will kick off on Saturday.
Weis sarcastically described the punting competition, which stretched over two days this week instead of the usual one, as "wonderful; a thing of beauty."
Offensive lineman Trevor Robinson, who was limited last week because of an ankle sprain, looked good this week in practice.
"He looked a lot better than he did last week, and...
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said he's not thinking about the possibility that Saturday's game could be his last home game as Irish coach.
"Not one bit," Weis said Thursday night. "That would be very selfish for me to do, to start off with. It'd be very, very, very selfish for me to be thinking about anyone other than those fourth- and fifth-year players. I promise you, as far as I could ever tell, I don't think those thoughts would ever enter my mind. That would be purely selfish."
With it being the last home game of the season, I’m going to spotlight some of Notre Dame’s seniors this week in the blog. Here are some comments from center Eric Olsen:
On his last home game: “It’s tough, because I know what to expect, but at the same time it hasn't really sunk in yet. I mean, obviously it's the last time I'm going to run out of the tunnel into our stadium. That's kind of hard to swallow. But at the same time, I'm really just worrying about winning this game right now. I'll worry about the emotions...
With it being the last home...
With it being the last home game of the season,...
With it being the last home game of the season,...
With it being the last home...
Notre Dame was again one of the nation's top schools according to the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate measurements, which were released on Wednesday.
Nineteen of Notre Dame's 22 athletic programs had 100 percent graduation rates, and none were below 93 percent.
All 11 Irish women's programs — basketball, cross country/track, fencing, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming/diving, tennis and volleyball — posted a GSR of 100 percent. Eight men's programs — baseball, basketball, cross country/track, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming/diving — achieved 100 percent GSR scores. Hockey scored 96 percent, football scored 96 percent, and tennis was at 93.
The football program's...
Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate is one of 15 semifinalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen didn't make the list.
The candidate list will be trimmed to five on Dec. 2 and the winner will be announced Dec. 10.
Here are the semifinalists:
Toby Gerhart, Senior, RB, Stanford
Mardy Gilyard, Senior, WR, Cincinnati
Jerry Hughes, Senior, DL, TCU
Mark Ingram, Soph., RB, Alabama
Case Keenum, Junior, QB, Houston
Dion Lewis, Freshman, RB, Pittsburgh
Rolando McClain, Junior, LB, Alabama
Colt McCoy, Senior, QB, Texas
Kellen Moore, Soph., QB, Boise State
Jacquizz Rodgers, Soph., RB, Oregon State
Jordan Shipley, Senior, WR, Texas
C.J. Spiller, Senior, RB/KR, Clemson
Ndamukong Suh,...
With it being the last home...
Notre Dame moved its practice indoors on Tuesday thanks to...
Notre Dame linebacker Brian Smith didn’t...
Great atmosphere tonight here at Heinz Field, where the students began lining up before 10 a.m., according to Pitt's athletic director, and then started pouring into the stadium at 6 p.m., which is when the band started playing outside the open end of the stadium.
So, pretty quiet week around Notre Dame, huh?
I think it's obvious just what tonight's game means for Charlie Weis' job, so that doesn't need to be rehashed. But the game is also crucial for the national perception of the program, whether or not Weis is the coach going forward. Notre Dame needs to beat a good...
Notre Dame cornerback Darrin Walls has played at Penn State, and in fact had one of his better games there. But this week is different. This is home.
Walls, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Woodland Hills High School there, is looking forward to playing in his hometown Saturday night. He's already played at Heinz Field once, in a high school playoff game.
"It's really exciting to go home and play in front of some of my family members and friends that haven't seen me play before," said Walls, who is looking for 25 tickets.
Walls went to middle school with Pitt wide...
Notre Dame assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator Corwin Brown took strong exception to the comments made by Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo after Saturday's game. First, here's the quote that got Brown fired up:
Q. It seemed like it was kind of a reverse of last year's game; they did a pretty good job against the option defensive, and this year you really got up on them. What do you think the key there to getting that hot offensive start?
COACH NIUMATALOLO: I think the one thing that helped us, and I really hope this doesn't come across wrong, but...
The ABC coverage map is out for Saturday's 8 p.m. games. If you're in the yellow section of the country (or Alaska or Hawaii), you'll see the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh game.
Like teammate Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame junior receiver Golden Tate said he'll sit down with his family and coach Charlie Weis after the season to discuss his NFL draft prospects.
"Right now, I'm playing for Notre Dame and Notre Dame only," Tate said Tuesday night.
Those around him are thinking ahead, though. Tate's mom has e-mailed him a few articles about his pro stock, but he's doing his best to ignore that kind of chatter.
"I tried to tell her, 'Mom, I don't want any of those e-mails. I want to stay focused on playing ball while I'm here,'" Tate said. "I really...
For Michael Floyd, apparently, 10 catches for 141 yards qualifies as OK.
“I think I played all right,” the Notre Dame receiver said about his first game back in the lineup after missing 5 1/2 games with a broken collarbone. “There’s a couple plays that I would want back.”
The obvious one would be the interception in the fourth quarter against Navy where Jimmy Clausen’s pass hit Floyd in the back and was intercepted by Ram Vela at the Middies’ 5-yard line. Floyd thought he was supposed to be blocking for a screen pass.
“It was just a miscommunication between some of the...
We were pretty fortunate, weather-wise, for Tuesday’s Notre Dame football practice — 52 degrees, with no rain or bitterly cold winds. I’ll take it.
Tuesday’s visitors included Vinny Cerrato, the former Notre Dame recruiting coordinator now with the Washington Redskins; and a scout from the Tennessee Titans. Don’t know how the whole Vince Young thing is going to shake out in Tennessee, but I think we can be sure that Cerrato was here to take a long look at Jimmy Clausen.
Three guys who were missing from last week’s media viewing — halfback Armando Allen, offensive lineman Trevor Robinson and tight end Bobby...
Notre Dame has lost another offensive playmaker.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph will likely miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury, coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday afternoon. Rudolph, who ranks second on the team with 33 catches, injured the muscles in his left shoulder on a catch against Navy last week.
The loss of Rudolph comes a week after receiver Michael Floyd returned after missing 5 1/2 games with a broken collarbone. Team doctors told Weis that Rudolph might be able to play in the regular-season finale at Stanford, but Weis called that a "reach" and said Rudolph would...
Notre Dame's Nick Tausch is one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to the nation's top placekicker. Tausch is the only freshman on the list. You might remember that Notre Dame's Brandon Walker was on the preseason version of this list.
Here are all the candidates:
Wes Byrum, Auburn
Jordan Congdon, USC
Stefan Demos, Northwestern
Morgan Flint, Oregon
Kai Forbath, UCLA
Alan Gendreau, Middle Tennessee
Kevin Goessling, Fresno State
Alex Henery, Nebraska
Spencer Lanning, South Carolina
Hunter Lawrence, Texas
Joe Phillips, Utah
Robert Randolph, Virginia
Craig Ratanamorn, Marshall
Grant Ressel, Missouri
Will Snyderwine, Duke
Caleb Sturgis, Florida
Brett Swenson, Michigan State
Nick Tausch, Notre Dame
Leigh Tiffin, Alabama
Blair Walsh, Georgia
Freshman halfback Theo Riddick, who rushed five times for 35 yards against Navy and is averaging 6.1 yards on 21 carries this season, is in line for more playing time, coach Charlie Weis said Sunday.
"It's tough to ignore what he does with the ball in his hands. It's tough to ignore it," Weis said. "He's not just shaking and baking, making people miss. He's running with power for a guy his size and he's elusive and he's playing with toughness. I think you're going to see a lot more of him."
Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph did not break his collarbone against Navy as originally feared, Irish coach Charlie Weis said during his Sunday press conference. Weis met with the media before meeting with team doctors, so the next update on Rudolph's status for Saturday's game at Pittsburgh probably won't come until Tuesday.
Quarterback Jimmy Clausen was "knocked silly" near the Navy goal line on the play near the end of the third quarter, but suffered no further effects other than a bruised left hand and general soreness.
Clausen's backup, Dayne Crist, had ACL surgery on Friday that went "better than we...
I don't think it's possible for the weather to be better for early November in Northern Indiana than it is today. It's 67 degrees, brilliantly sunny and people are sitting in the stands in T-shirts. You don't see that too often for the next-to-last home game of the season. There is a bit of a gusty breeze, but probably not enough to be a major factor in kicks or passes. The condition of the field isn't great, though, especially between the hash marks.
Michael Floyd is on the field, warming up and looking excited to be part of things again. Armando...
In the span of 3 1/2 minutes, Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone managed to compare himself to both Happy Gilmore and Forrest Gump in describing his mad dash to bring down Washington State safety Chima Nwachukwu and prevent a defensive extra point during last week’s game in San Antonio.
Ragone chased down Nwachukwu inside the 10-yard line to keep the Cougars from scoring two points after a blocked extra point attempt during the first quarter. You can watch the play by hitting the play button in the box below:
In addition to keeping Washington State off the scoreboard, the...
Notre Dame is going back to Eric Maust at punter this week after another shaky outing by freshman Ben Turk.
Maust punted better in practice this week than Turk, who averaged 33.2 yards on five punts last Saturday against Washington State. That average was dragged down by punts of 10 and 20 yards. He also dropped a snap.
"The bottom line is we're playing on the home stretch and we're playing some pretty good opponents, and we just can't afford a major hiccup that costs us that much field position," special teams coordinator Brian Polian said Thursday night.
Turk, Polian said, needed to...
Notre Dame halfback Armando Allen and offensive lineman Trevor Robinson will likely sit out Saturday's game against Navy with ankle injuries, coach Charlie Weis said after Thursday's practice.
Allen might not even dress for the game, Weis said. The hope is to have him 100 percent for next week's game at Pittsburgh.
"They told me he's a full go by Tuesday," Weis said.
Robinson will dress for the game, but won't play unless the Irish need him.
"We're going to try not to play him," Weis said.
Wide receiver Michael Floyd took more contact than expected this week, responded well and will play "plenty" on...
Notre Dame special teams ace Mike Anello and offensive lineman Chris Stewart were both named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for District 5 on Thursday.
Anello and Stewart, each of whom graduated in 3 1/2 years and currently take graduate-level courses, now get placed on the national ballot.
Anello, who was named to the Academic All-America second team last year, earned a degree from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business in finance. He finished his undergraduate work with a 3.93 cumulative grade point average. Anello earned dean's list recognition in each of his seven semesters at Notre Dame, registered...
There wasn't anything particularly memorable about last week's Notre Dame-Washington State game, unless you count the site. But Steve Filer and Ian Williams will certainly remember it.
Filer, a sophomore linebacker, recorded the first solo sack of his career and Williams, a junior nose tackle, his first interception. Both milestones came in the fourth quarter.
Filer came from quarterback Jeff Tuel's blind side to sack him, knocking the ball free. The fumble was recovered by Cougar lineman Kenny Alfred.
"It was nice," Filer said. "When I came off the edge I was hoping that he wouldn't pass the ball, because he was in...
Notre Dame's Golden Tate has come out of nowhere to become of the best wide receivers in college football. Even Tate's own teammates never saw it coming.
Irish linebacker Brian Smith remembers coach Corwin Brown giving him a tape of Tate's exploits from the Purdue game during the players' freshman season in which Tate had three catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Brown passed on a prediction of sorts with that tape.
"He told us, 'Look, you never know. This guy works hard every day. He makes plays when he's put in there. You never know, he could be up for...
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen and receiver Golden Tate have both been selected as semifinalists for the Maxwelll Award, presented annually to college football's player of the year.
Clausen was one of six quarterbacks to make the list and Tate one of two wide receivers. Texas was the only other school to have two players make the cut for the award.
The three finalists for the Maxwell will be announced Nov. 23 and the winner will be announced on Dec. 10.
Here's the full list of semifinalists:
Jahvid Best, Cal, RB, JR
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame, QB, JR
Noel Devine, West Virginia, RB, JR
Toby Gerhart, Stanford,...
Dan Wenger didn’t like being demoted to backup status. On the other hand, it was the greatest form of motivation he’s ever experienced.
Wenger was playing two or three series a game this season as a backup interior offensive lineman until starting right guard Trevor Robinson was hurt last week against Washington State. Now Wenger enters Saturday’s game against Navy as a starter again.
“I just tried to play as hard as I can and show (the coaches) something, give them evidence to put me back in there,” Wenger said of his approach as a backup.
Wenger started all 13 games last season...
It was a glorious early-November day in northern Indiana, with the sun shining and the evocative/carcinogenic smell of burning leaves in the air as Notre Dame took to the practice field at the LaBar Complex.
Unfortunately, it was also 43 degrees and the temperature seemed to be falling by the second as the sun plummeted toward the horizon, and the cold far outweighed all that nice stuff I wrote in the first paragraph. “Everyone said I was overdressed 15 minutes ago,” said a smirking coach Charlie Weis, who was wearing a heavy coat over his hooded sweatshirt. Meanwhile, strength and conditioning...
A limited number of tickets for Notre Dame's final two football home games — Saturday against Navy and Nov. 21 against Connecticut — will go on sale to the public at 8:30 a.m. EST Wednesday.
Navy and UConn both returned portions of their ticket allotments. This is likely to be the last public release of football tickets this season, according to Notre Dame.
Tickets for both games 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 coach Charlie Weis must be getting CC'd on the e-mails sent to Irish beat writers, because he sounded a bit exasperated Sunday night when asked why freshman receiver Shaquelle Evans hasn't been playing much lately.
"He is not in the doghouse," Weis said. "I've heard this several times in the last few weeks about him being in the doghouse. As a matter of fact, the last week and a half, he's actually practiced better and better and put himself in a position to get significant time. The issue is, he's in a position to go ahead and play in...
Updates from Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis on some of the team's injuries:
Backup quarterback Dayne Crist: “We’re cautiously optimistic that it’s not as bad as we originally thought it was. We’re keeping our fingers crossed on that one, because when he got tested today, the knee was a lot more stable than we thought it would be.”
Offensive lineman Trevor Robinson: “Trevor got a low ankle sprain. He’ll miss some time. I don’t know if he’ll play this week or not. Right now, I’d list him for this week — today, Sunday night at 8 o’clock — I’d list him as doubtful....