It’s darned exciting … but I’m stressed out. Can’t ND play another game like the Nevada contest one of these days? In case you missed JC … that’s Jimmy Clausen, who’s been playing like another JC … he rallied the Irish for TDs near the end of regulation and then again in overtime to give Notre Dame it’s 3rd cardiac arrest win in the last 4 nail-biting games by a 37-30 score in overtime. Clausen also threw for over 400 yards and hopefully made Heisman voters notice that there are legit candidates playing above the Mason-Dixon Line.
Well, one might’ve thought coming into this contest that the Irish would have success running the ball on Washington. After all, UW gave up 325 yards on the ground to an unranked Stanford squad last week. That and, you know, the Irish have “a veteran offensive line that is coming into its own”. Oh … and UW was ranked something like 108th nationally in rushing defense coming in. Nope … again the Irish baffled logic and failed to expose a less-talented opponent at home. At least the passing game was working … and it saved the Irish in the end.
The first half saw ND keep the game closer than it should’ve been. This was capped by another failure to close the first half as the Irish gave up a FG after allowing Washington to travel about 60 yards in less than a minute. In addition to the fumble by Clausen returned for a TD, which was really the play that kept Washington in until the end, another big second half disappointment was ND’s inability to score a TD once reaching the UW 2 yard line and had to settle for a FG to take 19-17 lead. Then after relinquishing a Husky TD on their first drive of the 3rd, ND quickly moved to Washington’s 30 yard line where they had a 2nd down and two. A false start penalty on the Irish spoiled a good chance of keeping the chains moving and Turk punted.
Down 24-19 late in the 3rd, Locker easily moved Washington inside ND’s 5 yard line only to be stuffed at the one on 4th and goal which seemed to energize the Irish. ND marched right down to the UW 7 yard line in about 6 plays highlighted by a 37 yard romp by Robert Hughes. But AGAIN, ND failed to capitalize on being well inside the red zone and only gained 2 yards to the 5 and had to settle for yet another Nick Tausch field goal with 12:23 left in the game. The inability of ND to stuff the ball in the end zone on the numerous chances it had inside the 10 is both an offensive line failure and a coaching failure. This supposed veteran OL lacks both toughness and smarts … things that are terribly important in key short yardage situations. And you’ve got to put a lot of the blame on this Irish coaching staff. If you cannot get an experienced O-line to give you that push, especially against a suspect rushing defense, then you’re simply not doing your job. And in taking a look at 3rd down efficiency for both teams … ND, playing at home, converted on only 20% while Washington was clutch 41% of the time.
With the score 24-22 on Washington’s next possession, Locker again marched the Huskies down to ND’s 36 yard line where they faced a 4th and 3 situation with 9:42 remaining. After a time out, UW got a key first down. Then the the Irish gave up a 16 yard rush right up the gut and Washington would go on to score another easy TD after moving the ball effortlessly down the field to make it 27-22 Huskies.
The worry coming into the game was ND’s defense and it proved to be well-founded. Not only did they give up that easy FG to end the first half, but Jon Tenuta’s unit’s inability to make any kind of aggressive statement or adjustment in the second half is obvious. Let’s look at UW’s second half drives:
- 57 yards for a TD (3Q)
- 79 yards and stopped on ND’s 1 yard line
- 69 yards and a FG (4Q)
- 70 yards in 1:09 to kick a game tying FG to force OT.
That’s 275 yards of offense yielded in the second half … and Washington never punted!
Well, as ND fans were getting ready to jump off the ledge, another great drive led by Clausen in about 6 plays gave the Irish a 1 point lead and then a 2 point conversion made it ND 30-27 with just over a minute remaining. But once again, the Huskies moved the ball quickly down the field in very little time (about a minute) to kick the game tying FG with only 6 seconds left in regulation.
ND had the ball first in the OT and scored a quick TD made possible by a 22 yard Clausen-to-Tate pass. Irish lead 37-30!
On Washington’s OT possession, the Irish finally sacked Jake Locker!!!! Where was this all day?!?!!? This helped set up a 4th and very long and the game ended when Locker’s final pass was jarred loose by a ND defender.
Clausen for Heisman, Clausen for Heisman!!! Jimmy was a stellar 23 for 31 for 422 yards, two TDs and again REALLY CLUTCH down the stretch when the Irish had to have scores. Here’s a summary of game stats:
| Team Stat Comparison UW ND | ||
|
|
|
|
| 1st Downs |
25 |
23 |
| 3rd down efficiency |
7-17 |
2-10 |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-3 |
0-0 |
| Total Yards |
457 |
530 |
| Passing |
281 |
422 |
| Comp-Att |
22-40 |
23-31 |
| Yards per pass |
7.0 |
13.6 |
| Rushing |
176 |
108 |
| Rushing Attempts |
39 |
29 |
| Yards per rush |
4.5 |
3.7 |
| Penalties |
13-82 |
6-43 |
| Turnovers |
1 |
2 |
| Fumbles lost |
1 |
1 |
| Interceptions thrown |
0 |
1 |
| Possession |
32:23 |
27:37 |
Well, we go into the off-week with some momentum BUT also plenty of nervousness. The Irish are 4-1, a lucky 4-1. This team is equipped with the confidence that they have the moxy and talent to come back from deficits and darn near put up 30+ point per game. But on the other hand, a VERY LEAKY defense is preventing this team from being taken seriously … and rightly so. Just cannot understand how this Washington team … a team the Irish completely smoked in Seattle last year (okay … it was without Jake Locker), came in to South Bend, racked up 457 yards, and took the Irish to the brink Saturday. And the O-line just isn’t providing the toughness and physicality to make the offense completely dominant, especially when 3-4 yards are needed in key situations.
Anyway, we’ll take the win, which sets the table for the Irish to take the major step we’ve been waiting on for several years: beat USC! ND has two weeks to rest, get healthy, and prepare for this home game on Oct 17. USC is beatable, but it won’t be easy by any stretch. They are going through some growing pains with a new young QB, a young defense and new coordinators. But if the Irish can somehow win this game against the 7th ranked Trojans, this will create significant and much needed momentum for possibly a great season and also for the program in general. Losing, or worse yet, not competing in this game will only stir the doubts about the coaching staff’s ability to ever bring the ND program firmly into the Top 10-15 in the country … a place were fans and alums expect it to be annually.
So … it was good to get the win, yes we needed some luck (like the overturned UW touchdown), but it’s good to be 4-1 right now. And a doubly good day since the Michigan Skunkbears lost to Michigan State!!!
Have a great week … and you can rest up with the Irish to get ready for the USC game. See ya in 2 weeks!
Before I get into anything else, can we discuss roughing the snapper? Roughing the snapper?!? When I first heard the call, I thought they meant the holder. Replays showed no chance of that. Someone has to explain that call to me.
The ND defense has to be this year’s best example of an enigma. They can pull off goal line stands, but for some reason the defensive backs don’t understand the importance of seeing the ball. How many times will we watch replays and see the ball going right past an ND db’s ear while he is staring at the receiver?
Roughing the snapper? HAHAHAHAHAHA – the more I say it, the closer I come to incontinence.
That was the Robert Hughes I remember. Wow! That two-point conversion was all heart…and a little lower body strength.
Great game by Clausen, but what was he thinking on that lateral? ND’s offensive scheme was great yesterday. With Michael Floyd relegated to coach and Armando Allen needing motivation, Clausen used six different receivers.
Washington is a better team than their record shows.
Hughes knee was down before the ball crossed the plain on that 2 -point conversion…How did the officials miss that one ? Was there no replay in the booth ? Goes to show you gotta be lucky as well as good…Luck of the Irish !
Can’t wait for USC game in 2 weeks…Luck of the Irish will run out !
I am glad that Casey mentioned the goal line stands. I thought that Wally was a little tough on his comments about the ND defense. Yes, they gave up tons and tons of yards, but you have to admit that they were tough when they needed to stop Whasington. I mean we did stop them again and again after the roughing of the snapper. This was the most rediculous penalty that I have seen this year! Is anyone going to mention the ND field goal kicker? When is the last time that ND went 5 for 5 in a game? That was incredible. Yes, TDs would have been much better and preferred, but 5 for 5 was good.
Clausen for Heisman!
I am glad that ND is off for a week. Maybe I can get my heart calmed down for the next game.
“Roughing the Snapper” is an actual penalty, but it is very rarely ever called … maybe like twice per season in all of CFB. But it is called especially against ND when a make-up call or other shenanigans are needed by the opposing team’s conference officiating crew. I’m being serious. I remember it was called against the Irish in Brady Quinn’s senior year, I think, and everyone had the same reaction …. “When exactly did this happen and what did you see, Mr Official????
Russell —
Appreciate your comments … and yes, all Irish backers are very thankful for the goal line stands!!! Let’s just not get into that position … it costs ND significant field position and time … really puts our offense at a big disadvantage. But those were valiant efforts.
As for luck, yes, you need some and hopefully it isn’t all bad. The Irish have been living a bit of a charmed life lately, but fate clearly owed ’em at least one after the “bad luck and bad calls” against us at Michigan. Still, ND is 4-1 and hasn’t played any games against the “directional schools” that other teams are feasting on: Northern This and Western That and Central High. I’ll defintely take 4-1 at this point … it’s where I thought we’d be, but the prospects for beating USC aren’t good with ND’s porous defense. Can they fix it in 2 weeks?
Now if you want to see some real “roughing the snapper”, go to one of Emeril Lagasse’s restaurant kitchens down in New Orleans. They really let their snapper have it! 😉
HA! Helmet sticker!!!!!!!!!!
I know Casey mentioned it, but I was surprised at how disorganized Notre Dame’s secondary looked. At times when they were using a zone defense it seemed like guys were out of position and there was just general chaos.
Overall, I thought the Irish offense was fantastic – especially considering the field conditions. The development of Jimmy Clausen from Freshman year to Junior year has been tremendous..
Crash, “Roughing the snapper” is balanced by the missed “knee down” on the PAT, except that (and I saw the replays on ESPN too) you can’t say definitively that it was HUGHES knee that we saw. Unless it’s irrefutable, you can’t overturn the on-field call. So that still makes “roughing the snapper” the worst call of the day. Amen re: the Irish secondary and the much needed week off so we fans can strengthen our hearts. Actually, I would LOVE a last minute win over USC.
Pete,
It was obviuosly Hughes knee on the turf on that 2-point conversion…What replay were you watching ? The “roughing the snapper” was weak ! I’ll give you that…So, ND loses to Michigan but squeaks out last minute victories over MSU,Purdue and Washington, combined records of 5-10…Thanks to The “California Kid” Jimmy Clausen…This is ND’s best chance since 02′ to make it close against USC…Irish haven’t scored a touchdown in 2 years !
Trojans have outscored ND 284-95 since 02′ I don’t see it being any different on 10/17 ! Fight On !
Pete
That’s all right. I must have seen the same telecast as you.
BTW, it is being debated on IN/IL TV why the Irish are not in the rankings. Are they serious? Let’s beat a somebody in a somewhat convincing fashion and then I say rank us. Crash, I still believe that we can at best ASSUME it is Hughes knee. I believe it’s Hughes knee. But it’s not irrefutable. No turning over the on-field decision based on the replay tapes.
You’re correct 🙂
Thanks Crash! Your just being nice and gentle with a ranting old man!