Duds and Studs: San Diego State

Finally after a long offseason, the Irish are back on the gridiron, and with the completion of another game comes the revival of the Charlie's Nasties Duds and Studs edition.

Duds:

Weis: After having their hopes inflated for the second straight offseason, Irish faithful can't help but be a little disappointed by a 21-13 victory over a cupcake opponent. Before I talk about Weis, let me first preface that 1. any coach and coaching staff has every reason to be optimistic heading into every season; there's no way you're going to win if you don't think you're any good, and 2. Notre Dame is still not in the realm of the top 10 teams that handle their cupcakes with laughable margins of victory, thus it may seem unfair to expect multiple touchdown victories against our cupcakes...

However, it is absolutely unacceptable as a head coach to bring a team out so flat that it fails to score a point until the first two minute drill, it is unacceptable to average under 3.5 yards per rush against an injury plagued defensive line that was among the worst in the Mountain West last season, and it is unacceptable to focus on special teams in the offseason only to fail at the season's first two field goal attempts.

Maybe Weis was saving something for Michigan when he chose not to put his best playmakers on the field (see Floyd) or chose not to run behind his best linemen (right side), but if the Irish continue to put forward the same effort they did Saturday, Skip Holtz is looking frighteningly good as a future coach.
Duval: We laughed off Kamara's failure to make weight heading into training camp, and I dismissed rumors that #18 looked lazy during the majority of summer camp. With his freakish athleticism and size, I was convinced that Duval could come out on Saturdays and be Duval, continuing to dominate defenses. It goes without saying that I was disappointed with Kamara's start to the '08 campaign. Several miscommunications between him and Clausen as well as at least one glaring drop worry me that Duval relaxed after his success in 2007. Hopefully this game will serve as a wakeup call because other receivers seem ready to take his playing time.

Mo Crum: Plain and simple here. A fifth year captain cannot have back to back penalties at any point.

D-Line: It looks like the offseason fears about the line are true. I would be surprised if we ever got pressure on a quarterback this season without sending at least two other players. SDSU was able to average 4.7 yards per rush, our two leading tacklers were both safeties (McCarthy with 14 and Bruton with 7), and with Lambert and Brown also registering 6 tackles, that means that Crum (6) and Brian Smith (4) were the only LBs to be found in our top 6 tacklers. This is a bad sign that the front 3 are failing to take on blockers to let the backers make plays.

Studs:

Clausen: True, Jimmy had two picks and seemed to lock onto receivers early and often, but throwing 62% for 237 yards and 3 scores isn't a bad day. What elevates JC into the Stud category more than his numbers, however, was his performance under pressure. Namely, he was able to regain the lead and seal the victory when his team needed him most.

O-Line: The run blocking was not good, but after letting up an average of 5 sacks a game, registering a goose egg in the first game has to be considered a victory, no matter who it is against.

Tate: After catching only 6 passes in 2007, Golden made his presence felt Saturday by doubling his career receptions for a total of 93 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, Tate was able to draw a defensive pass interference by beating his defender and was close to making another spectacular catch. Perhaps what is most encouraging about #23's performance, however, is that he was able to get some receptions on a few different routes while still flashing his big play ability. This has prompted the creation of another Golden Is Thy Tate shirt, which can be found here.

Safeties: Bruton and McCarthy lived up to their high expectations, not only keeping everything in front of them and punishing anyone that got close, but also by breathing life back into their team by creating what very possibly might have been the game winning fumble. Recovering from an inconsistent first half, Sergio Brown also made his presence felt (highlighted by a punt block), and I look forward to seeing more of him this season.

Other thoughts: After coming so close to losing our top 2 runningbacks, I was a little surprised that Allen and Hughes were the only two backs that got carries. Floyd looked good in his only reception of the game; that kid is going to be something. Good game by Grimes also as he began his quest to silent his doubters. Surprise not to see Robby Parris on the field at all... Next week's game may be among the sloppiest of all time if out team doesn't fix some things quick.