Week 7 Preview - Where's me pot o' gold?
First Impressions
Well, this is it. The big game. THE game. I call it "THE game" because I believe this is the barometer we have been waiting for. Weeks of anticipation, trash talk, speculation, forum wars and ESPN analysis have all lead up to this weekend. It's a critical game for Jimmy, Charlie, and the University. This game will tell us the true state of the Notre Dame Football program.
The 6th ranked USC Trojans visit South Bend this weekend knowing they are expected to win. After all they have averaged just over 40 points per game against ND in their last 7 meetings. I mean, why would USC worry considering ND's defense has only managed to stop a disappointing WAC team this season. I'll tell you why they should worry... a five headed monster named Jimmy Allen Golden-Rudolph Hughes, and he's waiting to rack up some points of his own.
This game has a certain feel to it. It's that little Irish tingle that tells me something special is going to happen in Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday. I can tell you the origin of that feeling: confidence. Weis made it clear this week, and so did the captains, that this teams knows they will win the game. They really believe it. Guess what... so do I.
The Matchup
The most intriguing aspect of this game is the strength versus strength battle that will take place. The dynamic, 8th ranked passing offense of Notre Dame squares off against the mighty Trojan defense, ranked 6th overall. Clausen vs. Mays. The #1 ranked QB vs.a D that hasn't allowed a passing touchdown all year. Something's gotta give Saturday.
Where's me pot o' gold? (the keys to the game)
In my mind, there are a few key things needed in order to keep the Jeweled Shillelagh South Bend.
- Our Offensive line needs to handle the pressure created by USC's front four. If we force SC to bring additional men to create pressure, our receivers will have some soft spots to exploit in the defense.
- Our defense must stop McKnight and company. If they run the ball all over ND, it's going to open up the deep threat that now exists with Ronald Johnson returning to the SC offense.
- We must be able to establish a ground threat. If we become one dimensional there is a good chance USC keeps their streak of zero passing TDs allowed alive.
- Turnovers. If we can manage 2 turnovers in this game, that might be enough of an edge to win this game. Of course, we need to protect the ball when we have it.
- We need to keep freshman Matt Barkley guessing. Sprinkle the blitzes in, but lets force hi mto make accurate passes by leaving some coverage in the middle of the field.
- Special teams play will be big this weekend. Visions of Zibby's punt return in '05 crop up when I think of the type of effort needed this Saturday on special teams.
Allow me to paint a picture for you. The backdrop is a "sea of green" filled with 81,000 Notre Dame fans on their feet. The Fighting Irish find themselves in an all-to-familiar situation: USC leads 21-17 with :59 seconds remaining in the game. Clausen orchestrates a final drive that brings the Irish just short of the goal line with 7 seconds left. The crowd respond swith a noise louder than anything heard in northern Indiana. Needing to score a TD, the Irish line up for the final play, Tate and Rudolph split left, Jimmy under center. The ball is snapped, handed to Robert Hughes, the Trojan D crowds the line, and with herculean strength Hughes rumbles the pile just over the goal line.
The Irish Win, the stands empty, and a celebration unlike any other breaks out in South Bend, Indiana. This time, we win the push at the goal line. This time, we win the game. Not because we are more talented, not becuase we dominated the game... we win becuase we have more FIGHT in us.
The Fighting Irish believe they will win this weekend.. and so do I.
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5 comments:
Well,depite the loss I feel something special did happen in South Bend this weekend. We showed the country we CAN play against anyone and have a shot. This D, yes gave up a lot of points but held fast when the game was on the line. Jimmy showed his gut, his heart and his toughness, again. If the Irish had played a complete game they would have won. I got really pissed when I heard the post game with Coach Weis and he said he did not call time out after the roughing the passer call because hw wanted to save it to decide wether he was going to go for 1 or 2 after they scored....Doughnuts..you did not score. And why the hell would you go for two anyway. Take the PAT and win it overtime, you were owning USC in the 4th quarter. That no time out cost us 15 to 20 seconds and would have given us another shot at the end zone. One more thing, why not a run play when you had the ball on the USC 4 yard line, they were waiting for the pass and Allen, Hughes or even Clausen could have tried, our O line is better than thier D line. I would not be shocked if the Irish are still in the top 25 after this loss and Jimmy should still be in the Heisman race.
I could not agree more with everything you said Rabid...especially the part about running at the end of the game....and as a head coach..you need to know before you score if you are going for two or not. USE THE TIMEOUT! soread em wide and run allen or hughes up the gut and get 3 yrds or socre...don't play into their hands by putting their pass defense to the test. We should have scored but yes...the irish have more fight than I thought...down 34-14, any other irish team would havr thrown in the towel and things would have gotten ugly...not this team...RUN THE TABLE IRISH!
How sad are you people. Look at what you say "well, we may have lost AGAIN but, we showed the world that we can play. You lost you idiots. You lost at home to a true freshman QB!! You have all seniors on your O line and your QB is a 3 year starter. You really make yourselves look bad by celbrating a loss because it was only 7 points. Read the article on ESPN that shows the true feelings from around the country. Notre Dame was on the winning end of some horrible calls in that 4th quarter and it helped them a bit. Regardless, you are now down 8 in a row and you have evolved into a program that celebrates loseing by 7 as if you won. Now that is a pitiful program. By the way, it will only get wrose next year when it goes to 9 in a row and you get that stompin that typically see every year. This was the year for Notre Dame, errrr well according to your delusional fan base. Now, go put on your little green tights and watch replays of the loss to our beloved Trojans. You can celebrate that you did lose but, that it was only 7 and even with all the help from the refs. So sad!!!! so pitiful!!!! so funny!!!! SO 8 IN A ROW!!!!!
Nobody is celebrating. And if you think year is the year then you are wrong. We are celebrating the fact that ND finally has some talent (YOUNG TALENT) that can hang with USC. I never expected them to win that game. Did I expect them to compete? Yes, which they did...our reaction is a a reasonable reaction considering the beatdowns that ND has endured at the hands of the Trojans the past few seasons.
Next year, when Floyd, Clausen, Tate, Rudolf, and a young defense is back...including the MANti Teo that you wish you had in Southern California are all back, you will see the streak end. This was not the year that ND was going to beat USC...you should be ashamed to let a no.25 team take your no. 6 team down to the wire and be GLAD that Kamara slipped because overtime would have spelled defeat for your trojans...you can stop holind your breath now because the barely ranked Irish almost flushed your season down the toilet. Next year it will happen.
No celebrating here...that will come next year in the Colleseum.
I forgot to include Hughes and Allen
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