Purdue Duds and Studs

Sorry again for the delayed post... I'll try to throw up general thoughts about the game, coaching, and etc. a little later this week, but for now I'll head right into the Duds and Studs:Duds

Big Plays: 2 of Purdue's 3 touchdowns came on plays of 35 yards or longer. The first score featured perhaps the worst tackling I've ever seen from this defense, and the second was a blown coverage that allowed Jaycen Taylor to trot untouched for a 38 yard score. Domer Law Blog sums up my feelings on the big plays given up on Saturday:

I think that everything you need to know about this team is summed up in this quote by Weis:

"You know, they (Purdue) had a couple of carries where they got yards, and then the rest of the carries I mean, they gained 56 yards on three carries, and they gained 11 yards on the other 14 carries. They had a 26 yard run, a 15 yard run and a 15 yard run, and they were really the only runs that were over ten yards, and the rest of it averaged less than a yard a carry."

So to sum up, if we wouldn't screw up a few times a game, we could be really good.

Pass Defense: Joey Elliott shredded the defense for 289 yards and 3 TDs, and our lone interception was on a 4th and 3 where an incompletion may have been the better option. Robert Blanton had eight total tackles on the night, but the overall production is still not there. A better pass rush will help, but we need our talented corners and safeties to start producing some turnovers and better cover the opposition.Injuries: Purdue may have been the "wounded animal" after losing at home to Northern Illinois the previous week, but even though Purdue came out and played a great football game, it is obvious that while Notre Dame may be able to play without Floyd, putting points on the board without Floyd and Clausen and Allen will be a struggle. Kudos to Weis for using some creativity, but we need JC and AA back at 90% or better if we want to get to 9 or 10 wins.

Studs

Golden Tate: Everyone is quick to point out Brian Smith's enthusiasm and leadership on defense, but I never hear the same about Golden on offense. This cat never goes down easy and always seems to know how to get past the first down markers when its third and long. With 5 receptions for 55 yards and 9 carries for 55 yards, the versatile Tate helped keep Purdue's defense guessing for most of the game.Front 7: Who would have guessed that our run defense would have been doing better than our pass defense by the fourth game of the season? The 2008 recruiting class of Ethan Johnson, Darius Fleming, and KLM is starting to mesh nicely with young gun Manti Te'o. The unit held the nation's second leading rusher Ralph Bolden to a season low 67 yards on 17 carries. Now if only this group could start getting after the quarterback...

Kyle Rudolph: Check out this line about our tight end and tell me he didn't merit the title of "Stud" for this week:

“Kyle looked at me and said ‘Jimmy give me the ball,”’ Clausen said. “I said, ‘You better get open and catch the ball,’ and he made a big play. After that, I gave him a big hug and said all that work in the summertime out in California paid off.”

X Factor(?): Call it what you want: grit, guts, or will to win. The magic ingredient that many fans have accused former Irish teams of lacking appears to be strikingly present in this year's squad. Whether it's players like Rudolph demanding the ball on the most important play of the game, Robert Hughes dragging defenders with him into the endzone, or Sergio Brown and Manti Te'o combining to sack Elliott to end the game, this team has simply refused to lose.

Jimmy Clausen: Speaking of refusing to lose, in the last three games, JC has found his team down late in the fourth quarter and responded with three touchdown drives. It makes sense that a player currently 5th in ESPN's Heisman watch list should find himself in the Studs category week in and week out. At this point, if the Irish find themselves less than 1 score down and on offense as time is running out, I think that we have a good chance of winning because of this guy.

Thats it for this week. Go Irish!

IrishSoonerGators

As I was watching the BCS National Championship last night, I noticed not only that national championships are way more entertaining when Ohio State isn't playing in them, but that Notre Dame may be heading in the right direction.
What!? After a 3-9 season followed by a disappointing 7-6 campaign, how can you possibly compare the Irish to the best teams in college football? You might ask... Here are a few things I noticed while watching the game:

• The turn-and-look offense: I found it interesting that both teams looked to the sideline before snapping the ball to determine whether they should audible from their current play, but I wondered if a matured Jimmy Clausen would be capable of making these reads himself next year. An offense adjusted at the line Peyton Manning style should help the Irish keep up the tempo while exposing weaknesses in the defense.
• Both teams could hit: The first half of this game was filled with more bell-ringers than I could count. The defenses made sure that if they were going to give up yards, they weren't going to do it easily. Here I look back to players like Tommy Z, Abiramiri, and Cory Mays, who all could lay wood at Notre Dame. Now we should see players like Sergio Brown, Kerry Neal, and Brian Smith stepping up. With the defense so young, we have the potential to grow some real hitters by next year if...
• Both teams had great strength programs: Percy Harvin is fast. Real fast. But he also benches 405, and OU's Chris Brown ran like lightning while being ripped like the Adonis (and he's the second string RB). This is one area where I think Notre Dame has trailed off recently. It may just be that all the players are so young, but I think Mendoza's lifting program has not been as affective as some of the top tier programs. With the coaching overhaul being revealed in the coming months, this will be one spot that I pay close attention to.
• Notre Dame is targeting the right players: In one of the earliest editions of the Irish Blogger Gathering, Frank at UHND asked us to pick 1 recruit that we wished ND landed in each of the last three seasons, and my three were Gerald McCoy, Carlos Dunlap, and Omar Hunter. As a redshirt sophomore, McCoy was an All-American defensive tackle that was an absolute force last night, registering an interception in addition to his slew of tackles. Dunlap starts on Florida's nasty defensive line as a sophomore along with fellow almost-Irish-sophomore Justin Trattou, and if not for injury, we may also have seen Omar Hunter at the defensive tackle position for Florida last night. Bottom line: Notre Dame is targeting talent that is starting and contributing on national championship caliber teams. This should comfort those that worry recruiting rankings don't mean that much.
• Playmakers make plays: One difference that I thought put Florida on top at the end of the night was the play of Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin (duh). Great teams have very good players at every position, but the best teams have 1 or 2 of those X-factor guys that can put the team on their shoulders and win the close games. I definitely see Tate and Floyd starting to fit this mold; there were multiple games where the team had given up but Golden kept laying his heart out on the field, and while Floyd is only a freshman, I see him moving in that direction also.
  

True, we might be more than a year off from competing on the level of Florida and Oklahoma, but keep in mind that we may not be too far off from turning a corner.

MSU Duds and Studs

Diving right in...

Duds

Duval Kamara: Terrible route running almost made me put him on this list for the Michigan game, but a touchdown reception saved him. By all means, Kamara should be a go-to receiver this year. His height, speed, and strength combine to create what should be a huge mismatch problem for all secondaries, but poor route running, poor execution, and miscommunication have been the theme for his first three games. Clausen got credited for the two picks against MSU, but one of them came from Duval failing to out-jump a shorter DB on a risky, but in my opinion a pretty well thrown ball, and the other resulted from him failing to shorten his route to adjust to the corner blitz. Keeping that in mind, the line becomes blurred between who should have the INTs in their stat line.
Haywood/Weis/Latina: I know that all of these coaches break down countless hours of film (on our team as well as opponent's teams). I also know that these coaches also spend a good deal of time in person with the offensive line in practice. So how can coaches that know their personnel so well perceive such a glaring weakness (run blocking) as a strength? How can the offensive line get dominated play after play on run blocks, but the coaches continue to call exclusively running plays? Notre Dame's runningbacks picked up 30 yards on 15 carries during the game. Either the coaches need to adjust their blocking schemes, magically find much better run blockers, or admit that Notre Dame will not be a 'power running team' in 2008 and begin using the pass to set up the run.SBPD: Raiding nearly all student frequented bars to make sure bar tenders aren't serving underage? Fine by me. Allocating 5+ units for this task? Questionable, but still explainable. Taking the time to arrest (as in taking to jail, not ticketing) 40 students for drinking at a house party? Unless the students were rioting against the police, I find this one hard to explain. See JY's write up for more.

Brandon Walker: 0-3 in attempted field goals this year. Sure the team has had some problems with long snapping consistency. I don't care. My interhall football team was able to scrap together a field goal unit minutes before our game, and guess what? The one field goal we attempted was from about 40 yards out, one of our offensive linemen was kicking, and he missed... but I swear to you it was closer than Walker's was.

Studs

Tate/Floyd: No surprise here. These receivers have played their tails off all season. If other players could break a tackle like Tate did on his 3rd and 17 reception, I would like our chances much more this year. Floyd, despite his fumble, makes the list because he gave the extra effort on his TD reception that Duval should have given on his INT non-reception. The pair combined for 169 of the team's 242 receiving yards (70%), and Tate added a run of 24 yards. If that wasn't enough, MSU kicked away from Tate the entire game, which either says a lot about Tate, or very little about Allen.

Brian Smith: Another player who seems very comfortable in the Studs column, Smith played another solid game at linebacker, stripping Ringer for the only MSU turnover of the day.

Ethan Johnson: It looks like Notre Dame has found at least one freshman to contribute on the D-Line. Johnson looked at worst capable and at best disruptive during the game, logging two pass deflections from the defensive end position.

3rd Down Offense: The Irish entered the contest having converted only 6/24 (split evenly against Mich and SDSU) times on third down, but were able to perform considerably better Saturday, picking up the first 6 times in 13 chances. This stat was very encouraging, and shows that our offense isn't trying to keep the defense on the field the entire game.

Other Notes: Clausen played pretty well, completing 24 passes for 242 yards, but I would like to see a little more variety in his passing tree (i.e. less Grossman-esque fly routes). It still confuses me when the coaches put Allen in at RB when so far this season Hughes and Aldridge, while they haven't been great, have both been better than #5. I know that Yeatman probably shouldn't have been out drinking considering that a.) he just lost a winnable football game, and b.) that he is on probation, but keep in mind that the kid was just at a house party. Also, I haven't seen any reports about how much the kids had been drinking, so don't accuse him of throwing back a case when he could have been drinking much less. Otherwise, let's keep the home winning streak rolling.

Go Irish!

Duds and Studs Michigan

Just as Notre Dame was better than the 21-13 score over SDSU, they were worse than 35-17 over Michigan; UM had 6 turnovers, and while a few of the turnovers were the result of great plays by the defense, several of them were blatantly UM gaffs. These plays which Rodriguez referred to as 'unforced errors' may have skewed the score somewhat, but for now I'll definitely take a 35-17 rain soaked win, no matter how we attain it.


Duds


Michigan Coaching: Speaking of Rodriguez, did anyone get a chance to watch the post-game media session? Weis showed up with a 'blown up' knee, soaking wet, and still wearing all of his coaching gear. Rodriguez, appeared much later, issuing an apology to the press for taking so long to 'take a shower and get ready to leave as soon as possible.' I understand why he wanted to get out of South Bend so quickly following the loss, but keeping the media waiting in a damp smelly room for an hour is just another example of Rodriguez not understanding college football etiquette. Additionally, I'm pretty sure I could have performed Corwin Brown's job on Saturday; how hard is it to stop an offense that either runs: 1. HB off tackle or 2. play action pass? I realize that the team is still installing its new offense, but after 3 games, the playcalling seemed pretty bland.

Armando Allen: With Aldridge back in the lineup and Hughes looking like he did at the end of last year, Allen saw a huge drop off in carries last weekend, running the ball only twice for four yards and dropping the only pass thrown to him. Even returning kicks, the speedster managed just 9 yards on two attempts. Perhaps Weis limited his action because he thought UM's front seven was stronger on the outside and elected to pound it inside more with the bigger backs; let's hope he can eventually deliver on his big play potential.


Rush Defense: For the second straight week, ND let up a higher per carry average (3.8) than its offense was able to produce (3.3). If it weren't for UM fielding such a green offensive line, the McGuffie virus could have really run wild on the Irish. If you think that 131 yards on 25 carries is a big game for a running back, wait until next week when Notre Dame will have to face a running back with 3 more years of experience, a much better line, and NFL scouts willing to bet a first round draft pick on him.

Pops: I got my first prediction of the year wrong as I predicted an Irish loss in a low scoring game, but as consolation, I did write this in my Michigan preview:

"If the Irish are successful in this one, it will be due to ND’s defense drumming up come circa 2002 turnovers, and Michigan's defense surrendering one or two big plays on offense and special teams."and "Notre Dame’s best bet [at moving the ball] will be to stretch the field"


Also, Weis mentioned in his post game talk that the two main elements of ND's game plan were:

1. To air the ball out because Weis didn't think he could succede by 'nickle and diming' UM's talented front seven, and
2. Win the turnover battle. Weis was convinced that turnovers would decide this game.

So I'll accept flak for being too pessimistic, but at least give me the benefit of an asterisk on this loss.


Studs

David Bruton: Here's a write up from Blue and Gold that sums up the stellar play of the senior:

"the All-American candidate added two more big plays against Michigan when he foiled two Wolverine drives deep in Irish territory. The first was a forced fumble at the 5-yard line that helped Notre Dame preserve a precarious 28-17 lead that could have become 28-24. Bruton later added an interception at the 5-yard line that he returned 39 yards in a play he almost broke for a touchdown."
Asked about his knack for creating big plays, Bruton says that it is just a result of executing what he has been coached:


“Practice what we preach, especially in wet conditions, ripping at the ball.”


Mike Anello: An obvious snub from the Week 1 Studs list, the undersized but speedy walk-on had another phenomenal game, causing one fumble and recovering another on special teams. It was great to see #37 get some action at CB towards the end of the game; you can't argue that he didn't deserve it.


Golden Tate: The Tennessee native accounted for 86% of Notre Dame's receiving yards (127/147) despite only catching 4 passes. It was nice to see Tate have a big game against SDSU last week, but if he can keep this pace up for the rest of the season, I don't think an All-America honor is out of the question. Floyd also looked good again, drawing some key pass interference penalties, and opposing defenses better hope that both of ND's top receivers don't develop to their full potential, otherwise they could be in some serious trouble.

O-Line: For the first time since 2003, Notre Dame's offensive line kept the QB upright for consecutive games. This was expected against SDSU, but it still baffles me that Michigan's front seven was unable to sack Clausen on Saturday. Even a freshman got in the action as Trevor Robinson stepped in after Stewart left with a minor ankle injury. Because Robinson contributed to the zero sack total, his first appearance in Blue and Gold should be looked at as a positive, but he doesn't quite seem to be able to drive off the line like the Titan from Texas just yet. Hopefully Chris will be back for MSU.


Brian Smith: With two fumble recoveries, a touchdown, pass deflection, and a plethora of tackles, Smith gets the last spot in the Studs list this week; linebackers dream of having stat lines as sexy as this. Beyond the numbers, however, Irish fans should appreciate the fervor with which Smith plays the game. He is an emotional leader on a defense that dug deep and made plays when it had to against Michigan.

Other Notes: How awesome was Hughes' fake-right-go-right juke move that made a Wolverine defensive player actually fall over? For the second straight week, Weis elected to use play action passes in 3rd/4th and short situations. I thought the kicking game was good, especially considering the weather; Anello and Bruton aren't the only reason that opponents haven't been able to do much on kick returns. Finally, Kudos to Weis for handling his injury with such poise; watching him on the field and at his press conference reminded me of some of his better characteristics, like his devotion to his team and this university. Good luck on the recovery.

Go Irish!