30th Sep 2007
Purdue 33
Notre Dame 19
Notre Dame managed to keep a game close for the first time this season. Notre Dame’s offense actually produced more yards than their opponent. Of the 426 total offensive yards, 377 of them were passing yards. Jimmy Clausen played very well, with the exclusion of an inexperienced interception, and threw his first career TD to John Carlson early in the third quarter. Clausen would play a few more plays until he was replaced by Evan Sharpley due to an injury. The severity of this injury is not yet known, but it didn’t appear to be too bad. I expect Jimmy to be playing next week. Sharpley also played very well, but also threw an interception. He managed to throw two touchdowns to true freshmen, Duval Kamara and Golden Tate. Golden Tate made two fantastic catches to score and convert of fourth down. Down by seven in the fourth quarter, the Irish couldn’t stop Purdue and gave up another touchdown to put the game away. Notre Dame’s defense once again gave up over 30 points, 23 of them coming in the first half, but forced a couple key turnovers.
The running game did very little throughout the entire game, after success last week with James Aldridge. He did not get the ball nearly enough, and the Irish only had 26 rushing attempts on the game accumulating for 49 of the 426 yards. Armando Allen got the ball a few times and also could not get anything special on his attempts. Other factors in the game were the amount of penalties committed by Notre Dame. Purdue was given many automatic first downs on stupid mistakes by the players, on 11 penalties for 110 yards. The offensive line only gave up two sacks on the day, but for 22 yards. Charlie Weis went for it on fourth down six times, and converted four of them. Robert Hughes failed two times when the Irish should’ve just used the quarterback sneak.
Jimmy Clausen should start next week if he is completely healthy, even though Sharpley did well when he was in. Clausen was playing extremely well and throwing accurate passes up to his injury. One last note, the Irish rush defense needs to improve greatly after allowing another opposing running back to rush for over 100 yards.
Notre Dame has moved to 0-5 and will face an experienced UCLA team, looking for revenge after the last minute win last year. Go Irish!
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28th Sep 2007
According to ESPN.com, Demetrius Jones has decided to attend the University of Cincinnati. The Bearcats are 4-0 right now and are breaking into the Top 25. Jones will be able to play for them next season if all goes well, but will not be on scholarship due to Cincinnati having none to offer at the moment. I hope to confirm this information later.
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23rd Sep 2007
Michigan State 31
Notre Dame 14
Notre Dame came out strong in the first half running the ball efficiently with James Aldridge. Went to half time down by three and than didn’t score for the rest of the game. The secondary did not play well at all and the Irish passing game struggled again. The offensive line continued to give up sacks causing Clausen to have very little time in the pocket. The game was much closer than the previous three, but again the defense gave up over 30 points. Hopefully the Irish can continue to improve and get their first victory of the season against Purdue next week.
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14th Sep 2007
Notre Dame’s week one QB starter, Demetrius Jones did not get on the bus to Michigan and Charlie Weis has not talked to him yet. It seems obvious that he wants to transfer to another school now that freshman Jimmy Clausen is starting at quarterback. According to ESPN, Demetrius Jones has transfered to Northern Illinois and will play football there next season.
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9th Sep 2007
Penn State 31
Notre Dame 10
Notre Dame has yet to score an offensive touchdown this season, creating an 0 - 2 start. The offensive line continued to struggle allowing freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen to be sacked six times. The Irish running game was once again shut down, totaling for 0 yards on the day. The Irish got off to a decent start with a smooth looking first drive and than Darin Walls returning an interception for a touchdown. Penalties caused trouble all day for Notre Dame and field position was not strong. Jimmy Clausen had an “OK” first start throwing 17/32 for 144 yards, one interception in the end zone, and zero touchdowns. Only one pass was completed for over 15 yards the entire game. Overall, Clausen showed a lot of poise and made the right decision most of the time. Tom Zbikowski nearly returned a punt for a touchdown but just barely stepped out, leading to only a Notre Dame field goal. The rest of the game went down hill from there as Notre Dame’s defense was on the field most of the game. The Irish went three-and-out on most of their drives throughout the loss. Notre Dame (0-2) faces Michigan (0-2) next week, marking the first time both teams started 0-2 in a single season.
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4th Sep 2007
The decision that most of us hoped for last Saturday was made today. Charlie Weis announced Jimmy Clausen the starter for the Penn State game on September 8th. Clausen is now considered completely healed from his throwing elbow and is believed to give Notre Dame the best chance of winning. I completely agree with this decision after what I saw from him against Georgia Tech. Even though he was playing against the 2nd and 3rd team defense, he showed great poise and readiness. Evan Sharpley also played exceptional for the Irish, but Clausen’s release was much quicker. Jimmy Clausen looked very confident and calm, and was the right decision for Notre Dame. Now hopefully the offensive line can protect him and give him time to make the plays that the Irish need to win this game.
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4th Sep 2007
Georgia Tech 33
Notre Dame 3
I only have a few things to say about the game. The offensive line played awful. The defense needs to stop the run better. Red zone defense was outstanding. Better ball protection is obviously needed. The secondary played great, not allowing the wide receivers to do much. The running game needs to improve greatly. Armando Allen needs to get the ball more. Charlie needs to run the game better.
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