Little Things Lead to Big Win Against Washington

Erin McLaughlin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:39:23 +0000

Saturday featured another nail biting victory for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. This time it was against the surprisingly improved Washington Huskies. This is four straight weeks that the game has come down to the wire and the third straight victory. For Irish fans, it has been a great year if you love great games but a bad one if you have a heart condition.

The Irish pulled out another come from behind win and for the first time in the Charlie Weis era, got an overtime victory. There is no doubt that this Irish team is much improved from the previous two seasons. The previous two years they would find way to lose games and this year they are finding ways to win.

What is the difference?

Well it is a more mature team. That has led to better and smarter plays on the field. What really stood out against Washington was how Notre Dame did the little things so well. Looking at the game it really was alot of little things that made the difference between winning and losing.

The first little thing that was done well was coaching decisions. Charlie Weis has been known to go for it on 4th down. While fans always want to, it usually isn’t the smart thing to do. On Saturday, Weis did decide to manage the game better in these situations. On defense, Jon Tenuta has also been laying back on the blitzes a little more. The result is better tackling.

The second little thing was made field goals. A few months ago fellow Notre Dame writer Dan Bruner wrote an excellent article on how the kicking game is often overlooked, but has cost Notre Dame games in the past. The Syracuse debacle really stands out here. Well, on Saturday true freshman Nick Tausch made 5 field goals in the victory.

The third little thing was the offensive line. Sure Jimmy Clausen has definitely grown alot this year and has gotten better each week. But if you were to ask me what is the biggest difference in him this year, I would say the line. That really showed on Saturday as Clausen had all day to throw.

The fourth little thing was goal line stands on defense. This happened twice on Saturday. The first one involved stopping the Huskies and Jake Locker on third and fourth down. The second stand was even more amazing considering they had to do it twice because of a cheap penalty on a field goal to Ian Williams. These stands turned 14 points into 3 points.

The final little thing was Robert Hughes and his refusal to go down on a two point conversion. Hughes appeared to be stuffed but he refused to be denied the endzone and fought through a crowd of defenders to get the two points.

The Irish then took it into overtime and scored in two plays. The defense then came through on first and second down to bury the Huskies in difficult situations on thirds and fourth down. Then game ended with senior Kyle McCarthy breaking up a long pass from Locker.

In the end, the Irish finally came through in an overtime situation. However, it is important to remember that the game doesn’t even make it to overtime if not for good coaching decisions, made field goals, great pass protection, goal line stands, and a crucial two point conversion.

This game is a perfect example of how little things make a big difference on the one thing that matters, the scoreboard.

Should Charlie Weis Become More Involved with the Defense?

Erin McLaughlin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:12:24 +0000

Prior to the season, Irish faithful were expecting big things from Notre Dame. These kids who had been playing since they were true freshmen are now upperclassmen and expected to perform like it.

On offense, they haven’t disappointed. Led by Jimmy Clausen, this unit is on pace to be one of the best offenses in school history. Clausen has yet to throw an interception and has thrown for 951 yards with nine TDs. His rating is 188.6.

Although Michael Floyd was lost last week, there are still plenty of weapons like Golden Tate, Armando Allen, and Kyle Rudolph. Also, the line is light years better than they were the last two years.

You would think that with an offense like this, head coach Charlie Weis would have restored his reputation as an offensive guru and his job would be safe.

Unfortunately, that is not the case at all. For Weis, the seat is as hot as it has ever been.

As great as the offense has been, the defense has been very disappointing. After an impressive shutout against Nevada, this unit has really gone downhill against Michigan and Michigan State. They gave up a ton of points to both of them. The Irish were unable to hold a lead against Michigan and barely held on against Michigan State.

Realistically, with this offense Notre Dame should be 3-0. As it stands, they are 2-1 because of the defense. I mean no disrespect to Michigan, but Notre Dame’s experienced defense should be able to stop an offense led by a true freshman with the game on the line.

The part that is sad is they do have good players. Guys like Brian Smith and Robert Blanton are definitely legitimate college players. Kyle McCarthy is a leader. They also have youth in guys like Manti Te’o. There really is no reason why this unit can’t get it done with the players they have.

This unit does not look well coached at all. They miss tackles and commit bad penalties. Well-coached defenses don’t do that.

Also, this idea of blitzing on every play just isn’t working. The point of a blitz is to catch an offense off guard. The element of surprise is gone if you blitz this frequently. Good offensive lines will pick it up, and the quarterback is more prepared. This really leaves your secondary with no margin of error. That is tough.

If this defense doesn’t fix things and fix them now, Weis knows he will likely be looking for a job. They can’t get in shootouts every week. Generally with shootouts, whoever has the ball last wins. That means the Irish win half of them, and that isn’t good enough.

So what does Weis do about this?

Put yourself in his shoes. On one hand, you know that you are really an offensive-minded coach, so you should let defensive decisions be made by defensive coaches. At the same time, these guys who you hired to build this defense are clearly not getting the job done. These guys could get you fired.

This is really a tough spot to be in. If you start to focus more on the defense, that really takes away from time you spend with the offense. You know that defense is not your area of expertise but you will be looking for a job if the defense doesn’t turn it around and turn it around now.

What would you do?

Fighting Irish Gameday » Erin McLaughlin

Little Things Lead to Big Win Against Washington

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