Comments on: Five things we learned: Notre Dame vs. Washington

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By: g barnhart

g barnhart — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:49:02 +0000

to all the kind people who are always calling for cw head
i offer this history lesson.
when tyronne was let go the stated reason was,
he did not recruit well,like it or not that was the reason.
for two seasons charlie done well,and then
the big hole in the recruiting showed up big time
there wasn’t eneough talent to even play with the big boys
let alone winning, please billboard renters
and other misinformed people get your facts right before you
take your decietful potshots

By: Sean G

Sean G — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:10:25 +0000

I’m a huge Irish fan and after reading all of these posts, I want to interject my thoughts.
The Irish aren’t ranked because they aren’t impressive as a team. Their offense is playing at a top 10 level but there are 3 facets to the game of football. Their D is atrocious. Special teams is ok…average starting field position needs a ton of work. FG % is good…especially considering a true Freshman kicker.
(quick sidebar…most teams, professional and college, have lost the art of tackling. My father and I both believe that these young men want the big “SportsCenter” hit. Guys do NOT wrap up anymore and it’s making me sick!)
The Irish have much to overcome when dealing with the college football world. You’re either an Irish fan or you hate them. Most hate them. You have to be MORE impressive than other teams when you have a national tv contract…a national recruiting base…and the history of the University. Frankly, as a fan, we’ve gotten more out of the past then we deserve. We have accomplished nothing of note lately and until we start impressing the haters, I suspect that trend to continue.
I LOVE the development of Clausen and the passing game…and even give credit to the O line and new coach to a much improved running game. Let’s continue to let that running game develop…especially in the red zone.
D has speed….FINALLY….work on tackling and being in proper position. It looks to me like the players are often out of position. That’s coaching, not lack of effort or talent.
ND can re-enter the polls this week with a win over USC. They can also make a legit run at a BCS bowl if they win out…but they must be impressive. Look at the top 5 school’s records and point totals against they “cupcakes” on their schedule. There aren’t any come from behind wins there. (except for USC vs Wash…Wash is proving that they are no longer a cupcake on the schedule though…tough team)
OK, I think I’ve said enough…thoughts?

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:29:03 +0000

Two words: BETTER DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: jake

jake — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:02:39 +0000

kinganthony, thank god there is someone who speaks the truth along with me. Are you an ND fan? Either way you are right. I love ND, but lack of fundamentals and discipline comes from coaching. The tackling is abysmal. At least, and I am being generous here, 70 or missed tackles in 5 games. Look for a second at Iowa. Does anyone for one second think they have more talent than ND? Not even close. But which coaching staff gets more out of their talent overall? Iowa by a landslide. These next two weeks this is the most important thing the defense needs to work on..tackling. If they don’t tackle the USC receivers and backs, forget about it.

By: Teo

Teo — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:35:01 +0000

kinganthony:
In CW’s second year, ND went to a BCS game. In his first year, we were undefeated until SC came to town. So, we’ll see where RichRod takes Michigan.
With respect to the game, it was quite exciting. You-Dub is good. They are tough and their quarterback is a real leader. I think in a year or two, they will be at the top of the Pac-10. At least, it looks that way to me.
Here are a few things I noticed:
1.) The players and coaches did well. Yes, we could have won by a touchdown or so more, but that is football. There are always opportunities to perform better. In general, though, Washington brought their a-game and ND held them off.
2.) Golden is golden. This kid is a great receiver. He’s quick. He’s strong. He’s fun to watch. Let’s hope that he stays healthy and that he continues to get stronger. He’s had some bad games; this one was his best.
3.) Jimmy is a real quarterback. He is smart, athletic and has a tremendous arm. I am pulling for him. He finds receivers and knows how to feel the trouble.
4.) Obviously, the defense needs work. The tackling is not where it needs to be right now. Yes, we had the goal line stands but the tackling has to improve.
5.) This game will prove irrelevant if SC comes in and beats us by 38 points. We need a win against them. Period. No excuses and no moral victories. We need to come out, figure out what they’re running and put a stop to it. Then, we need Clausen to bring the boys down the field for touchdowns.
We all want Charlie to succeed. He’s getting the recruits. He has the schedule. He should win the big games. It was nice to beat Washington, but it will be amazing to knock off SC.

By: kinganthony

kinganthony — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:50:23 +0000

What Notre Dame Fans should have learn from this game and the Michigan game is, IT DOESN’T TAKE 5 YEARS TO TURN AROUND A PROGRAM IF YOU HAVE A QUALITY COACH.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:20:39 +0000

Okay. How about the crap call at Michigan when they said Armando Allen was out. Every analyst disagreed with the call. That would have made a difference in the final score.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:24:26 +0000

Good win, but USC will not allow ND to COME back. I love the IRISH, but the “D” isn’t there.

By: LT

LT — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:31:34 +0000

What do you want us to do cheer, i was there. Home fans boo, when was the last time a home crowed cheered or politley clapped when the opposing team came out. What did you want the fans to do, golf clap!?

By: geraldr

geraldr — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:20:53 +0000

I’m an Irish fan, but lets wait until Pete Carroll’s bunch comes in before we start talking BCS. We’ll find out what kind of team we have in two weeks. You want respect…go earn it and beat SC! That’s why ND isn’t in the top 25. The pollsters are waiting for ND to beat a ranked team.

By: NDatlien

NDatlien — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:28:07 +0000

I’m really tired of people calling for Charlie’s head. He recruits like a maniac, usually calls the right plays, and seems genuinely dedicated to his student athletes. Kind of reminds me of Holtz in that way. The 3-9 and 7-6 years Charlie had to field the greatest High School team ever assembled…problem was they were playing D-1 college football. If you want to see bad play calling, I have some tape of Davie (who’s actually a very nice guy, just a really bad coach).
Yes, we dropped the ball against MI. Yes, I’m starting to wonder if I’m going to have a nervous breakdown watching these games. But let’s remember that these are kids. They’re college athletes. You don’t come up with two straight goal line stands unless the coach has convinced these kids that something like that is possible.
And a quick aside to the people who’re going nuts about Charlie wondering why we aren’t ranked–THAT’S HIS JOB. He’s supposed to lobby for higher position so that, in the event of a loss, we look better. A team falling in the rankings, or even OUT of the rankings, still looks a lot better than an unranked team losing. Also, when he talks about the top ten, he isn’t suggesting that ND vault from unranked to 3rd in the nation. He’s suggesting that after about the top 5 there are significant flaws with every team. This is pretty much the consensus among everyone who knows anything about/has been watching college football this year. Sure he’s being a little hyperbolic when he notes that NO team in the top ten has had a game without a bit of a struggle, but again; HIS JOB IS TO GO TO BAT FOR HIS TEAM.

By: robertg

robertg — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:04:29 +0000

keith,
1. yes, this notre dame team needs to improve in many areas, but charlie and his staff and notre dame’s student athletes have been doing just that every day. notre dame has the talent and depth of talent at every position and can beat any team in the us.
2. we are very likely to see cierre wood on the field much sooner than anyone thinks.
3. cierre has no blocking problems or any weork ethic problems. he just had to learn the nuances of the system and, according to our information, is fully ready for prime time.
4. no doubt, many notre dame fans are correctly disturbed by the latest rankings by the ap, the coaches and the harris poll.
5. well, a win over usc will certainly do the trick(usc will not have a crooked pac 10 crew to save them as they did in 2005 to save them from a loss to notre dame), although a complete overhaul of the current rakings systems really is necessary, along with the current conference and ncaa officiating and rules enforcement systems,along the heisman and other award systems.
6. these are matters that we, as notre dame fans, should be dealing with while charlie and his staff and notre dame’s student athletes are working to get better every single day and they are doing just that.
GO IRISH!!!

By: robertg

robertg — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:37:45 +0000

1. we have never been fans of game officials or tech reviewers and never will be until the old system is out and the new high tech system fully transparent to the public.
2. however, there are quite a few games that are called honestly and the washington/ notre dame game was one of those.
3. if you have access to the game film, not the tv feed, the best equipment that money can buy to break down game films, a current copy of the ncaa fotball rules, and the experts on staff with years of running the nfl real time review systems, there is simply no debate about hughes having the ball across the goal line plane well before hughes’ knee went down( it was not even close) and that hughes kept the pile on his own moving with his strength and determination.
4. both notre dame and washington had tds called back, notre dame’s wass negated by a correct penalty correctly called against notre dame and that the fellow vwho thinks that washington had a legitimate td called back because the washington wr definitely did not get the ball across the goal line plane.
5. as for big east officiating or tech review crews favoring notre dame, that makes zero sense based on their historical performances.
6.after all, in many other games, big east refs and tech reviewers have shafted notre dame in football on many occasions since notre dame refuses to join the big east conference in football.
6. in fact, it was the big east review crew which correctly reversed an nd fumble recovery which was initially called by the pac 10 refs on the field and correctly overturned an interception by kyle mccarthy called by the onsite pac 10 game refs on the field, a pick which would have ended the game without going into overtime in notre dame’s favor.
7. the conclusions of our experts on the officiating at this washington/notre dame game would have been exactly the same if washington had emerged as the winner of this game, as washington nearly did at this game. they have been breaking down game films of every bcs division football game for us for over 4 years and perfect scores for ref and tech review crews are very rare.
8. by the way, our techies are pure techies who would otherwise not be following college football or sports at all.
9. the members of this pac 10 ref crew and big east review crew made a courageous decisions to call an honest game and they did.
10. washington if a fine team and has a great chance to win the pac 10 championship. we wish them the best of luck since they are already playing well enough to win the pac 10 this season and hold the tiebreaker over usc.
11. there simply were no dishonest calls by either the pac 10 officials on the field, including the roughing the holder penalty against ian williams. what happened in the game and on the game films as broken down and the ncaa rules governing that subject. ian’s conduct was not intentional, but did merit the penalty that washington got to take another shot at a td 3 more times.
GO IRISH AND MAY THIS WASHINGTON TEAM WIn THE PAC 10 CONFERENCE for 2009!!!

By: Irish Ice

Irish Ice — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:49:27 +0000

Hats off to Locker and the Huskies, they never gave up and played hard. Their coach showed class by respecting the Irish and the outcome after the game. Sarkesian has a good team on his hands and will be a force in the Pac-10. Well done IRISH. Before Stanford, the next two games can make the season. Listen closely, that sound you hear are the Echo’s, and they are awakeing. Always, NOTRE DAME

By: NDBrian

NDBrian — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:14:56 +0000

It was talked about, EXTENSIVELY DocHR!! Pat Haden was all over it…Anywho, I’m glad the bye week has come upon this team. Let’s let the nation chew on some of the other teams and their problems. ND deserves a little break from the media…GO IREESSH!

By: james haas

james haas — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:04:25 +0000

news flash it doesnt matter if his knee was down,its where the ball crossed the plain and it did…go irish

By: DocHR

DocHR — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:10:37 +0000

Little mentioned in the post game analysis is Kyle McCarthy’s hit of the Washington receiver on 2nd and 6 during the double goal-line stand. McCarthy had been covering one receiver, then left his and tackled the Washington receiver at the 1 yard line. This was an easy touch down until McCarthy’s hit. Take a look at it on the MSNBC 4th quarter replay. It is truly awesome, and one of the great individual game and season-saving plays. Go Irish!

By: TexasFitz

TexasFitz — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:53:21 +0000

HUUUUUGHES!!!

By: YGBSM

YGBSM — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:50:39 +0000

So called “come from behind” wins vs mediocre opponents now qualifies for shaking the thunder from the sky??
I’m sorry but I must have missed it, but where is ND in the Top 10?
Maybe Top 20??
25??
A weak schedule and unconvincing wins apparently don’t impress the AP or Coaches Poll voters as much as the folks in SB.

By: J B

J B — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:08:32 +0000

I was three, and no they didn’t.

By: drgma

drgma — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:46:09 +0000

It was clearly a Washington touchdown. The onfield officials may have been Pac 10, but the Review staff was Big East, and Crooked.

By: drgma

drgma — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:45:05 +0000

It was clearly a Washington touchdown. The onfield officials may have been Pac 10, but the Review staff was Big East, and Crooked.

By: Snoop

Snoop — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:42:13 +0000

@JB – Washington fans boo’d USC as they took the field a few weeks ago. Was that “lack of class”?
What home crowd doesn’t boo the opposition when they take the field?
“Present” or not, you lost. You were 0-for-2008 a year ago, and have a great future. Take a deep breath, dry your eyes, and look forward to next week.

By: Goldendomer

Goldendomer — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:26:09 +0000

For those of you who are crying about officiating, ND has been fighting Refs all season, welcome to the club. Some un noticed penalties hurt the irish as well. On the lateral play, i watched the play three times to make sure, Armando allen was being held by his arm, and that is actually what caused that. Then on our third field goal, Golden tata was being held in the back of the erndzone which didn’t allow him to go up for the ball. And a big run that pope had, our Fantastic # nine had him, then got clipped off with an illegal block. So do not cry Ref, No game is called 100% correct

By: J B

J B — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:15:21 +0000

ND fans boo’d the Huskies as they came onto the field pre-game. Very classy in South Bend. You got a present yesterday so take it and shut up.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:01:22 +0000

Pretty sure it is Hughes. About the only way I can imagine this legitimately counting as a 2-pt. conversion is if the ball crossed the line, then Hughes was pushed back, at which time this photo was taken. However, that didn’t appear to happen, as ND surged forward, and I don’t recall a counter-surge by UW.
Sometimes a camera angle appears to confirm a belief, but then another more telling camera angle overturns it.
Photography is often revealing, but it’s still an imperfect re-creation of an actual event, so it’s possible that this camera angle was in fact deceptive. But I doubt it, and I certainly wouldn’t pick this play as the one that “wakens the echoes.” If there was such a play, it was Tate hanging onto the ball when he got flipped at the goal line.

By: N Anderson

N Anderson — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:29:06 +0000

As a Husky fan, my heart sank when I learned that a Pac-10 orew would be officiating; believe me, that gave the Huskies absolutely NO advantage! The Pac-10 has the dubious distinction of having the worst refs in the entire NCAA. The Huskies were robbed of a touchdown–the score should have been 31-22 going into the 4th quarter. That was key to ND’s “miraculous” win.

By: Pat

Pat — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:02:45 +0000

Response to PSM’s Six Observations
# 5). ND needs Cierre Wood and he should take his blocking skills seriously, but it was not Cierre Wood who was on the field when Clausen was injured.

By: PSM

PSM — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:53:21 +0000

ND remains the standard, based on the weekly comments from fans of opposing teams. Washington’s new head coach has done an amazing job based on the talent pool and extremely short tenure. One clearly imagines that within 3 years he will have Washington in the top 15 on a regular basis, with top 5 in any given year depending on their recruiting across the board.
However, Washington is not yet an accomplished team, as ND imploded from substandard coaching. If a WU fan wants to argue that their head coach is superior to ND’s OC and DC, I question whether any serious ND fan will argue.
Unfortunately, Weis’ achilles heel remains his need to win the “coaches meeting” rather than the ball game, as he employs hard to fathom playcalling inside the red zone. I wish Charlie would contract with a company to make his own video football game, replete with hundreds of plays on offense and defense and get it out of his system. When the defense is on its heels and ND has moved with alacrity to the red zone, that is not the time to show everyone how clever he is. Especially with superior talent on the field. This is not pro football, where such plays are necessary because virtually every team in the pros can win on any given Sunday.
The Defensive Coordinator (DC) is taking ND into the bottom of the NCAA conference with his high stakes, ill-advised addiction to blitzing. I felt it was a mistake to hire him, I really cringed when he was made DC and now I wonder if USC will destroy ND again. The defense is good enough now to play normal defense with occasional blitzes.
My Six Observations
1) Defensive line hire already paid huge dividends. Replay shows the the DL firing on each snap on the goal line, stuffing the WU offensive line. It is his and their victory and not the blitz-happy Georgia Tech DC.
2) Offensive line hire is the real deal and probably too good for ND to keep. One benefit of DC is the offensive line is pretty good at picking up blitzes.
3) If Charlie lets Clausen heal so he has full mobility by USC, Clausen is going to win the Heisman. Charlie can run an offense up to the red zone, but has not learned to “quick strike” and score.
4) Put DB coach back as DC. Else, its going to be a long season and Charlie’s last at ND.
5) Cierre Wood needs to take his blocking skills seriously, as it was a missed block by the RB that lead to Clausen’s injury, and ND needs him.
6) ND finally has a kicker who may end up being one of the most valuable assets the team has over the next few years. ND is too talented and high profile not to be competitive in most games and the kicker is going to win a lot of games for ND, I suspect.