Posted on October 1st, 2009 by Erin McLaughlin

When Notre Dame’s schedule came out, Irish fans saw this game against Washington as a real threat. It was really seen as an easy victory heading into a bye. The Huskies were a  team was in transition and didn’t win a game last year. Therefore, there is no way they could come into South Bend a get a victory.

While a Notre Dame victory is still an expectation, it may not be as easy as the Irish thought. So far Washington has been an early season surprise. With a healthy Jake Locker, they are 2-2. It started with them giving LSU a real scare. Then they beat Idaho quite easily.

While a victory over a WAC opponent is nothing to get excited about, a win over Steve Sarkisian’s old team is. That of course is USC. That victory really put the Huskies back on the college football map and landed them in the Top 25 for the first time in years.

Then just last week, they get blown out to Stanford. What does that mean? Was Washington’s victory over USC a fluke? After all, it was with an inexperienced back up quarterback. Or does it mean that Stanford is alot better than alot of people think? I am still waiting for Jim Harbaugh and that program to explode. They seem close.

This uncertainty about how good Washington is does make my stomach turn a little. The fact that the Irish are probably still a little banged up doesn’t help. Charlie Weis did say that Jimmy Clausen is doing better but needs to get through this game so he can rest a little next week. Armando Allen will be back this week but is not expected to play full time.

The Irish must prepare for Washington as though they are preparing for the team that beat USC. I hope that Jon Tenuta doesn’t go crazy with his blitzes. An experienced quarterback like Locker can pick them apart. Tenuta needs to be a little more discrete and disguise the blitzes better. The bottom line is though that the defense just needs to tackle better.

I am very curious to see what Weis does on offense. I am wondering if we will see more of that running package with Dayne Crist. It worked so well in the first half last week that you almost have to still keep it in play. Maybe they don’t use it as much, but enough to keep Clausen and Allen healthy.

The bottom line is though that if the line blocks and guys make plays the offense will score alot.

There is no question that this is an important game for the Irish to make a statement. A victory could possibly put them back in the Top 25. It will give the team momentum heading into a bye and then preparing for USC.

A loss on the other hand would be bad. Weis haters will be out in full force for two weeks and the Irish will have a sour taste in their mouths while preparing for USC.

While we may not know which Washington team will show up, we do know that Notre Dame needs to bring it’s A game and be firing on all cylinders.

Related posts

• Little Things Lead to Big Win Against Washington (0)
• The Many Faults of the Heisman, College Football’s Most “Prized” Hardware (1)
• An Optimistic Look Back on the Weekend in West Lafayette (1)