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		<title>Notre Dame at USC Football Tickets &#124; November 27, 2010</title>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:32:55 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Buy Notre Dame Fighting Irish at USC Trojans  Football Tickets &#124; November 27, 2010 (11/27/10) Notre Dame at USC Football Tickets November 27 2010 Buy Notre Dame at USC Football Tickets at Los Angeles Sports Arena and Coliseum in Los Angeles CA on November 27 2010 Related posts Tulsa at Notre Dame Football Tickets &#124; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/c4106gv30v2IMPJOLOLIKJMSQJOO?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fusc-football-tickets%2Fusc-vs-notre-dame-11-27-2010-917704%2F&amp;cjsku=917704">Buy Notre Dame Fighting Irish at USC Trojans  Football Tickets | November 27, 2010 (11/27/10)</a></h2>
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<td valign="top"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Notre Dame at USC Football <a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/tag/tickets/" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag nofollow" title="Posts tagged with Tickets">Tickets</a> November  27 2010</span></strong></p>
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		<title>Good Luck Charlie Weis</title>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Jan 2010 05:15:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=933</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As we are all aware, former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis will now be the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. After a disappointing end to his tenure at Notre Dame, Weis is now back to doing what he does best. That is an NFL offensive coordinator. I don&#8217;t know how other Notre Dame [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>As we are all aware, former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis will now be the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. After a disappointing end to his tenure at Notre Dame, Weis is now back to doing what he does best. That is an NFL offensive coordinator.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t know how other Notre Dame fans will root. I am sure some will want him to fail and others won&#8217;t really care one way or the other. Me personally, I will root for him to do well and I hope he gets a chance to eventually be a head coach again at the NFL level.</p>
<p>I could never hate on Weis the way I do Willingham. The reason is really quite simple. Willingham really didn&#8217;t aggressively recruit and he drove the program to the brink of irrelevance.</p>
<p><a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/charlie_weis.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1031" title="Charlie Weis" src="http://fightingirishgameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/charlie_weis-300x272.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="272" /></a></p>
<p>I have no doubt that Weis gave all he had to Notre Dame. From the brink of irrelevance, Weis immediately took this team to the BCS two years in a row. Because of Weis, top recruits once again are going to Notre Dame.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Weis did a really good job with the offensive players. Notre Dame had two really good quarterbacks in Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen. Weis offenses also had guys like Golden Tate, Jeff Samardijiza, Michael Floyd, Darius Walker, <a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/tag/armando-allen/" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag nofollow" title="Posts tagged with armando allen">Armando Allen</a>, Kyle Rudolph, Anthony Fasano, and the list goes on.</p>
<p>Under Weis, Notre Dame produced some of the most exciting offenses I have ever seen.</p>
<p>Unfortunately though, Weis apparently didn&#8217;t recruit as well on the defensive side of the ball. Nor did he hire the right guy to be his defensive coordinator. That is what ultimately did him in. He did recruit Manti Te&#8217;o, but he was a day late and a dollar short on that one. I guess he always was an offensive coordinator at heart.</p>
<p>At the end of the day though I know Weis gave it all he could. He is a Notre Dame alum. I always root for Notre Dame players to succeed at the next level no matter where they are. I feel the same way about Weis.</p>
<p>The ironic thing is that he will now be working with a former USC quarterback in Matt Cassel. Don&#8217;t be surprised if Golden Tate ended up there as well. Then you would have USC throwing to Notre Dame. How weird would that be?</p>

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		<title>Is Lane Kiffin a Good Fit at USC?</title>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:29:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=930</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After getting turned down by Mike Riley, Jeff Fisher, Jack Del Rio, Steve Sarkesian, and others, USC has hired Lane Kiffin away from Tennessee to replace Pete Carroll. Needless to say Kiffin was not their first choice. Why should he be? He was fired by the Raiders. Then he had a very mediocre year with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>After getting turned down by Mike Riley, Jeff Fisher, Jack Del Rio, Steve Sarkesian, and others, USC has hired Lane Kiffin away from Tennessee to replace Pete Carroll. Needless to say Kiffin was not their first choice.</p>
<p>Why should he be? He was fired by the Raiders. Then he had a very mediocre year with the Volunteers. During that mediocre year, Kiffin received a lot of bad press. It was one scandal after another.</p>
<p>That really has to make you wonder if Kiffin is the right choice for USC. Considering that the basketball team has just been placed on probation for the actions of O.J. Mayo, the football team doesn&#8217;t need any bad press.</p>
<p>There were the allegations revolving Reggie Bush&#8217;s parents a few years ago and most recently the Joe McKnight incident in which his use of a new Land Rover is in question.</p>
<p>This is a university that could and likely will undergo an investigation. It makes you wonder why they would hire a guy who just can&#8217;t get away from scandals.</p>
<p>It reallymakes you wonder if coaches don&#8217;t know something. The timing of Carroll&#8217;s departure is suspicious no matter what he says.</p>
<p>USC has been regarded as a dream job around the country for the last few years. Yet, there have been several who have turned it down. Why would they turn it down, if they didn&#8217;t suspect that something is going to happen?</p>
<p>This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on recruiting. Hopefully, all gets resolved for USC and everything goes well.</p>
<p>Looking at it from a Notre Dame perspective, their last two coaches were not their first,  second, or even third choices. It didn&#8217;t work out. This time, Brian Kelly was absolutely the first choice. From that standpoint, it could be bad for USC.</p>
<p>Hopefully, it does work out for USC because it would be nice for Notre Dame and USC to play when both are two of the best teams in the country.</p>
<p>The good thing about the hiring of Kiffin is that his father, Monte will be joining him. Monte Kiffin is a proven defensive coordinator.</p>
<p>At the end of the day though, this hiring really makes you scratch your head and provides more questions than answers. You would think that a school that may be in trouble would stay away from a guy who gets followed by scandals. He also has been mediocre based on results.</p>
<p>The reality is either Kiffin has outstanding interviewing skills or USC didn&#8217;t have much of a choice.</p>

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		<title>Why This Irish Fan is Happy (and Sad) Pete Carroll Left USC</title>
		<link>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/why-this-irish-fan-is-happy-and-sad-pete-carroll-left-usc/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:12:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eric Murtaugh</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=925</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was shocked to hear the news that Pete Carroll was resigning from his post as head coach at USC in order to jump back into the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. Literally overnight, one of college football&#8217;s most dominant dynasty&#8217;s in history entered the beginning of its end. As a Notre Dame fan, this makes me [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>I was shocked to hear the news that Pete Carroll was resigning from his post as head coach at USC in order to jump back into the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks.</p>
<p>Literally overnight, one of college football&#8217;s most dominant dynasty&#8217;s in history entered the beginning of its end.</p>
<p>As a Notre Dame fan, this makes me jump for joy, but also hang my head in sadness.</p>
<p>Why experience both feelings?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s because I have been waiting for USC to crumble and no longer beat up on the Fighting Irish, but on the other hand, I wanted Notre Dame to be able to beat the Pete Carroll-led Trojans while they were masters of the college universe.</p>
<p>If Notre Dame fans like me are having a plethora of mixed emotions about this continuing saga, I can&#8217;t imagine what USC fans are thinking.</p>
<p>Deep down inside though, my happiness over Carroll leaving outweighs my sadness.</p>
<p>Sure USC is Notre Dame&#8217;s biggest rival and I have respect for the Trojan program and history (did I mention the Irish haven&#8217;t beaten USC since 2001?), but I don&#8217;t like Carroll or 99 percent of the players he has recruited and led on to the field each Saturday.</p>
<p><a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/pete-carroll-usc.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1033" title="Pete Carroll USC" src="http://fightingirishgameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/pete-carroll-usc-206x300.jpg" alt="" width="206" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>What cannot be hidding, is the fact that USC under Pete Carroll turned into a slightly less abusive, less menacing, less confrontational and less fraudulent version of the 1980&#8242;s and early 90&#8242;s Miami Hurricanes.</p>
<p>The key word in that sentence is slightly, which should be defined more clearly whenever the NCAA finally comes out with its evidence and report on the Trojan football program and its alleged infractions.</p>
<p>USC supporters may claim that nothing has been proven yet and that the school and coaching staff knew nothing of the alleged infractions caused by Reggie Bush and others. Maybe so, but that&#8217;s not really the point as far as I&#8217;m concerned.</p>
<p>My problem with the USC program stems largely from the culture that Carroll created and nurtured over the past decade:</p>
<p>Mainly, turning the football team into a Hollywood attention loving, rock star persona-having and over-the-top confidence possessing program that showed not even the faintest sign of taking academics even remotely seriously.</p>
<p>Maybe it&#8217;s just the team being a product of their geography, but when you have a program that acts like a traveling rock show, it only heightens the alleged problems that Carroll and USC have been accused of.</p>
<p>Just look at the school&#8217;s most visible stars from the recent past: <a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/tag/matt-leinart/" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag nofollow" title="Posts tagged with Matt Leinart">Matt Leinart</a> and Reggie Bush.</p>
<p>Leinart seemed to live the life of a spoiled fraternity member, enrolling in joke-level classes and partying left and right.</p>
<p>Bush has always seemed more down-to-earth and somewhat of a decent guy, but the allegations against him are just about as serious as you can get in the world of the NCAA.</p>
<p>I just can&#8217;t imagine that many of the football players under Carroll were really students in Pasadena. The way the team handles itself, the allegations, the ultra-high level of winning&#8230;it&#8217;s all a giant arrow pointing to cheating on a pretty significant level.</p>
<p>Notre Dame fans are supposed to &#8220;hate&#8221; USC but do it with a level of respect and admiration. Now, its become a different form of hate and it should not surprise USC fans when the rest of the world is claiming their program is dirty and Irish supporters are the first to rally behind the accusers.</p>
<p>There may be a handful of reasons why Carroll left for the NFL, but I can&#8217;t imagine his own supporters are too happy with him jumping ship with NCAA sanctions looming on the horizon.</p>
<p>Maybe I shouldn&#8217;t have been so surprised by his resignation from USC because I&#8217;ve always looked at Carroll as a Bill Clinton-type of character. Besides their obvious similar physical features, Carroll has reminded me of &#8220;Slick Willy&#8221; in that he was tremendously successful at what he did, had an aura of &#8220;hipness&#8221; about him and always had a smile, a wink and a joke for everyone.</p>
<p>But those attributes are shared with both men&#8217;s sketchy behavior, back room deals and allegations of countless rules violations and the like.</p>
<p>By skipping town and leaving a mess in his wake, Carroll deserves all the negative press that is possible, no matter how great of a coach he is or how outstanding his record was at USC.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s as if he made a deal with the devil to sell his soul for glory at USC, but was able to wiggle his way out of the punishment and continue life in the NFL, and with a pay raise to boot!</p>
<p>Still, it makes me a bit sad to think of the ramifications that Carroll&#8217;s exit and the hammer that is about to come down from the NCAA.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m not nearly sold that USC is going to fall of the face of the earth, far from it, but it is difficult to believe that without Carroll and with some form of probation (no matter how small), the Trojans will not be able to play at the high level they have since 2002.</p>
<p>They may find it difficult to hire a good coach at this time, but I would think USC will get someone who is at the very least, competent enough to right the ship. If so, we can expect at least two or three more years of conference championship-level football out of USC.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t go writing obituaries just yet for the Men of Troy.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a bit of a bummer that there is the possibility that USC make slip back into its 1990&#8242;s level of winning because Notre Dame needs the Trojans to be good and vice versa. I know USC hasn&#8217;t been particularly elated that they&#8217;ve run over unranked and overmatched Irish teams the past decade.</p>
<p>With Notre Dame&#8217;s two biggest rivals in Michigan and USC experiencing difficulties today, it makes you scratch your head and wonder how this will affect the future. And let&#8217;s not forget Notre Dame has problems of its own as well.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the saga unfolding in Southern California will probably be a positive one in relation to Notre Dame. USC will probably take a small step back in the immediate to near-immediate future, and that will open the door for newly hired head coach Brian Kelly to assert his dominance over the Trojans.</p>
<p>And if USC really falls on its face in the future, maybe we can be excited that this will potentially force Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick to schedule some marquee elite programs?</p>
<p>What we do know is that when these two teams meet at the end of next season, it sure will be an intriguing match up between two new coaches.</p>
<p>Good luck in the NFL Pete.</p>

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		<title>Manti Te&#8217;o Gives Irish Fans a Late Christmas Gift</title>
		<link>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/manti-teo-gives-irish-fans-a-late-christmas-gift/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:33:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[fighting irish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Golden Tate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irish fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jimmy Clausen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle McCarthy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manti Te'o]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[notre dame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Blanton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south bend]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As this bowl season feels empty to Notre Dame fans, it is even worse to be stuck watching the Emerald Bowl the day after Christmas in a game that features Boston College and USC. Both are rivals to the Fighting Irish. The game forces Irish fans to choose the lesser of two evils. As hard [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>As this bowl season feels empty to Notre Dame fans, it is even worse to be stuck watching the Emerald Bowl the day after Christmas in a game that features Boston College and USC. Both are rivals to the Fighting Irish. The game forces Irish fans to choose the lesser of two evils.</p>
<p>As hard as that is, Irish fans all received a late Christmas gift that gives them reason to smile. A few weeks ago, Notre Dame ended the year with a four game skid. That brought about the inevitable firing of Charlie Weis.</p>
<p>Weis&#8217; firing was necessary in the eyes of most Irish fans, but did lead them to have a fear of a domino effect. Irish fans feared that the absence of Weis would lead Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate to leave early for the NFL Draft. It wasn&#8217;t long before their worst fears were confirmed.</p>
<p>The other part of the domino effect was the fear that the absence of Weis would influence freshman star linebacker Manti Te&#8217;o not to delay going on his mission. Apparently, that is where the dominoes stop falling.</p>
<p>Te&#8217;o has decided to delay his mission for at least another year and return to Notre Dame in 2010. That is welcome news all over South Bend.</p>
<p>It was  frustrating as it was to watch last years defense. Guys like Brian Smith and Robert Blanton were major disappointments and let a lot of us down.</p>
<p>Te&#8217;o was really one of only two bright spots. The other was senior safety <a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/tag/kyle-mccarthy/" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag nofollow" title="Posts tagged with Kyle McCarthy">Kyle McCarthy</a>. With McCarthy already gone to graduation, the loss of Te&#8217;o would have left a mess for whomever Brian Kelly&#8217;s defensive coordinator is.</p>
<p>That defensive coordinator now has a guy he can build that defense around. Going into his sophomore year, Manti Te&#8217;o really needs to be the key guy. Then if redshirt freshman Tyler Stockton can live up to the hype, the Irish have something to build around.</p>

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		<title>USC Needs to Do the Right Thing With Joe McKnight</title>
		<link>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/usc-needs-to-do-the-right-thing-with-joe-mcknight/</link>
		<comments>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/usc-needs-to-do-the-right-thing-with-joe-mcknight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:58:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fighting Irish News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Kelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joe McKnight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[notre dame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reggie Bush]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usc]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=915</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[USC has been down this road before in recent years. There was talk of NCAA violations with Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo. Regardless of what we feel about some of these rules, they are the rules student-athletes are expected to follow them. Now Joe McKnight is involved in a scandal. He apparently illegally accepted a car [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>USC has been down this road before in recent years. There was talk of NCAA violations with Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo. Regardless of what we feel about some of these rules, they are the rules student-athletes are expected to follow them.</p>
<p>Now Joe McKnight is involved in a scandal. He apparently illegally accepted a car from a dealer as a gift. While that may not seem like a big deal to some, it is against the rules.</p>
<p>Students claimed to have seen him driving the car around campus. McKnight says that it is his girlfriends car. He says that he has never driven it and doesn&#8217;t even have the keys. I am sure if you watch McKnight close enough, you can see his nose grow when he makes those comments.</p>
<p>There is a major difference between Bush&#8217;s and Mayo&#8217;s issues than McKight&#8217;s. Those two were already gone before word of the violations got out. McKnight is still on the team and the school has a choice to make.</p>
<p>USC is doing an investigation but the reality is that we know the truth without knowing the truth. McKnight is guilty of these violations.</p>
<p><span>USC and their fans have two choices. They can make excuses for him and try to sweep it under the rug or they can hold him accountable and either suspend him for at least the bowl game or kick him off the team altogether.</span></p>
<p>USC has a chance to really stand up and say that this is not what our university stands for and we will not tolerate this.</p>
<p>At this point USC is not at fault. If they take the appropriate discipline against McKnight they will still not be at fault. If however, they choose to make excuses for this and sweep it under the rug they will be no better than McKnight.</p>
<p>I certainly respect McKnight as a running back and I am not saying he is a horrible person. However, he knew the rule and he broke it. For that he should be held accountable.</p>
<p><span>You might think that as a Notre Dame fan I might be chuckling over this. I am sure there are some <span>domers</span> who are but not me. When Brian Kelly gets Notre Dame back to where it needs to be, I don&#8217;t want to beat a program on probation. I want to beat the Trojans when the Trojans are at their best.</span></p>
<p>Notre Dame and USC need each other and the rivalry is best when both schools are on top. For that reason, I hope USC makes a stand here and suspends or removes McKnight from the team. If they don&#8217;t this will only allow more violations to happen and it will lead to probation for the program.</p>

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		<title>Mr. Tate, You Truly Were Golden</title>
		<link>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/mr-tate-you-truly-were-golden/</link>
		<comments>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/mr-tate-you-truly-were-golden/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:39:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fighting Irish News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlie Weis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Golden Tate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hawaii]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irish fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Floy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Floyd]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Overtime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south bend]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=907</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week, Golden Tate confirmed Notre Dame fans worst fears when he and Jimmy Clausen both announced they would be leaving South Bend and entering the NFL Draft. Though we were holding onto hope that Tate would return for his senior year, none of us expected him to. About a month ago, my supervisor [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><span>Earlier this week, Golden Tate confirmed Notre Dame fans worst fears when he and Jimmy <span>Clausen</span> both announced they would be leaving South Bend and entering the NFL Draft. Though we were holding onto</span> hope that Tate would return for his senior year, none of us expected him to.</p>
<p>About a month ago, my supervisor told me straight up &#8220;he&#8217;s gone.&#8221; I asked, &#8220;Well that is a possibility but how do you know for sure?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;He is on national TV every week, and he makes a great catch every week.&#8221; Then the reality set in and I knew the inevitable.</p>
<p>That was after the Washington State game and then I knew I only had a few more games and a bowl game to enjoy watching him. Unfortunately there wasn&#8217;t much to enjoy after that point and we have no bowl game. However, Tate still made the plays and he is one that will always be remembered.</p>
<p>Notre Dame fans really started to see what they had in Tate at the end of his freshman year. That was the year they were 3-9.</p>
<p><span>Then as a sophomore Tate really became Clausen&#8217;s primary weapon. That was when we really began to realize how special Tate could be. He and <span>Clausen</span> were really becoming known for their hook ups on long bombs. </span></p>
<p>Meanwhile, another receiver was also emerging. That of course was freshman Michael Floyd. Irish fans were starting to think they had a nice tandum with Tate and Floyd.</p>
<p><span>Following an up and down year, Tate really had a breakout game at the Hawaii Bowl. In that game he had 177 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. The most memorable on was the long bomb from <span>Clausen</span> in the second quarter where he just ran by all the Hawaii defenders.</span></p>
<p>When the season began Notre Dame knew they had one of the deadliest receiving duel&#8217;s in the country with Tate and Floyd. In the first couple games of the year, it was Floyd who was making most of the big catches. That was until he broke his collarbone against Michigan State.</p>
<p><span>That was when Tate really began his streak of making one unbelievable catch after another. It started in that same game when he dove into the band.</span></p>
<p><span>The following week he was Mr. Everything against Purdue when he not only caught passes but also ran reverses as well as the Wildcat.</span></p>
<p>Who can ever forget the great catch in overtime against Washington? That was when the defender flipped him upside down and he still held onto the ball.</p>
<p><span>Next up was USC. In that game Tate had another big catch on a long bomb from <span>Clausen</span>. That play was when the Irish were down big and that play gave them momentum.</span></p>
<p><span>The next week the Irish were down late in the game and needed a touchdown. Guess who scored it? Of course it was Tate on another long bomb from <span>Clausen</span>.</span></p>
<p><span>The following week was against Washington State and we all remember the catch of the year. At the end of the half, <span>Clausen</span> threw into triple coverage and Tate took it away from all three of them. The amazing part was that was an incredibly difficult play but <span>Clausen</span> and Tate made it look so easy.</span></p>
<p>Although the four game skid followed, Tate still made plenty of great plays. Who can forget his big punt return in Pittsburgh or all or the big catches he had at Stanford?</p>
<p><span>Golden Tate is truly one player that will always be missed. Despite on playing on winning Notre Dame teams, he still was an unbelievable player. He quite simply was the best play maker in South Bend since a guy named Rocket Ismail.</span></p>
<p><span>As he enters the NFL Draft, I know I along with all Irish fans will root for him no matter what team he goes to. Personally, I would like to see him go to Cleveland along with Charlie Weis. It is not that I am a Browns fan, but it would be fun to see my favorite all time Irish receiver play with my all time favorite Irish quarterback (Sorry Jimmy).</span></p>
<p>Good Luck to you Golden Tate and you will always be remembered.</p>

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		<title>Tony Pike Proves My Point About Jimmy Clausen</title>
		<link>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/tony-pike-proves-my-point-about-jimmy-clausen/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:57:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fighting Irish News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boston college]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Golden Tate]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Navy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Tate Forcier]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Washington State]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=904</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The place was Pittsburgh. The conditions were brutal as snow was falling like it had been all game long. Pittsburgh had just taken the lead over Cincinnati with only 1:30 left in the game. However, Panther fans were still holding their collective breaths. That is because of a missed extra point that kept the lead [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>The place was Pittsburgh. The conditions were brutal as snow was falling like it had been all game long. Pittsburgh had just taken the lead over Cincinnati with only 1:30 left in the game. However, Panther fans were still holding their collective breaths. That is because of a missed extra point that kept the lead to six points and not seven.</p>
<p>Fan knew that one point was huge because 1:30 is more than enough time for a great quarterback. For the day Tony Pike had an up and down game. He had overcome three intercptions to throw two touchdown passes already. The offense had already produced 38 points. Certainly the loss wouldn&#8217;t have been Pike&#8217;s fault if the Bearcats failed to score.</p>
<p>However, Pike did what great players do with the game on the line. He produced. Pittsburgh brought the house at him but Pike was able to evade the rush and find his recievers. The drive ended with Pike hitting Armon Binns on a deep out for the touchdown. With the extra point that followed, Cincinnati clinched a Big East title.</p>
<p>Nobody was surprised that Pike was able to deliver one more time despite having to do it all day and all season. The Bearcat&#8217;s defense had let them down at times and Pike was asked to do all he could and more. Each week he delivered. That is what great quarterbacks do.</p>
<p>Now lets look at Jimmy Clausen. There is no doubt he had a phenominal statistical year. He also played his heart out all year. He did all he could for Notre Dame and there is no way you can blame Clausen for the six losses.</p>
<p>There is a difference though between Pike and Clausen. Clausen did all he could. Pike did all he could and more. The &#8220;and more&#8221; part is the difference between a really good quarterback and a great quarterback.</p>
<p>Watching Notre Dame each week was hard on the heart. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. Clausen made great throws and Golden Tate made great catches. In 10 of 12 games the game was a nail biter. It was only against Nevada and Washington State that games were blowouts.</p>
<p>In all the other games, the difference was a touchdown or less. In all 10 of those games, the ball was in Clausen&#8217;s hands with the game on the line.</p>
<p>It started at Michigan. Clausen had a phenomial day. However, with a minute to go in the game he missed Golden Tate on a play that would have got a first down and sealed a victory. Instead Michigan got the ball and true freshman Tate Forcier led the Wolverines to victory.</p>
<p>The next three weeks featured three more close games against Michigan State, Purdue, and Washington. In those games Clausen was the man and led his team to victory. In these games he produced with the game on the line.</p>
<p>After a bye, USC came to South Bend. The Trojans established a big lead in the third quarter. Clausen once again played his heart out and led the Irish back. Clausen had three chances to get the Fighting Irish into the endzone to get the victory. This time he failed.</p>
<p>Then came Boston College and in another close game, Clausen hit Tate in the closing minutes to get the victory. Then came the massacre at the Alamo. At that point Notre Dame was 6-2 and things were looking great.</p>
<p>Then it happened. There were four games left and the opponents were Navy, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Stanford. These games seemed to have a familar theme. The offense was putting up good numbers and scoring points but the defense could stop nobody.</p>
<p>Clausen would be phenominal for three and half quarters. However, it was that last half of the fourth quarters in which Clausen failed to produce. He would either get sacked or saftied or be hurried on the throw. While those conditions are not his fault a great quarterback finds a way to overcome them and produce when the game is on the line.</p>
<p>The conditions Clausen had were no different that Pike faced last Saturday. Yet Pike still found a way to come through.</p>
<p>While Clausen can&#8217;t be blamed for the losses, he also can&#8217;t be called a great quarterback. To be fair, Clausen faced the situation of having the ball in his hands with the game on the line way more than Pike did. However, he succeeded four times and failed 6 times.</p>
<p>Does a great quarterback fail 60% of the time? Everybody knows the answer to that. Again, Clausen is not at fault for the team losing. Just don&#8217;t say he was a great quarterback.</p>
<p>On Monday, Clausen announced that he would be entering the NFL draft as many expected. Looking at his skill set, it seems he is more fit for the professional game than he is for college. He has a great arm and incredible accuracy on the deep ball. His lack of mobility is less of an issue since he has professionals protecting him.</p>
<p>He can be great in the NFL if he goes to the right situation. At Notre Dame, he was very good but he can&#8217;t be called a great college quarterback.</p>
<p>Good Luck Jimmy and Thank You.</p>

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		<title>Does Notre Dame Even Want to Accept a Bowl Invitation?</title>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fighting Irish News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BCS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BCS Bowl]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=895</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Saturday, Notre Dame ended it&#8217;s season with another last minute heartbreaker at Stanford. Although the game was exciting, the loss dropped the Irish to 6-6 for the regular season for the second straight year. The difference is that this year expectations were so much higher than that. The team was fully expecting to be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>On Saturday, Notre Dame ended it&#8217;s season with another last minute heartbreaker at Stanford. Although the game was exciting, the loss dropped the Irish to 6-6 for the regular season for the second straight year.</p>
<p>The difference is that this year expectations were so much higher than that. The team was fully expecting to be contending for a BCS bowl. The way the season started, it appeared as though that expectation was becoming a reality. The Irish open the year by completely dominating Nevada.</p>
<p>Then they had a string of close games in which they won all but the ones against USC and Michigan. In both games, Notre Dame played well despite the loss. During that run the Irish got the Boston College and Michigan State monkeys off their back.</p>
<p>Remember the Alamo? Notre Dame sat at 5-2 and a win would clinch bowl eligibilty. More importantly it would set the Irish up to make a move up the BCS polls. Notre Dame completely dominated Washington State in that game. At that point, if anybody told an Irish fan that they would finish 6-6, they would get laughed at.</p>
<p>Then it happened. Notre Dame suffered four straight heartbreaking losses. All the games came down to the last minute. The first half of the year Notre Dame was finding a way to win these games. Now they found ways to lose.</p>
<p>In all honesty, the loss to Stanford would not have been a bad loss if not for the other three losses. Jimmy Clausen had a great game along with Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.</p>
<p>It was only fitting that Charlie Weis made a controversial call at the end of what will be his last as Notre Dame head coach. With a minute to go, he instructed the defense to let Stanford score. He had to given the situation. If he didn&#8217;t, the Cardinal would have ran the clock down and got an easy field goal with no time left.</p>
<p>Looking at the state of the program, it is clear that there will be a new coach next season. What isn&#8217;t clear though is whether or not Notre Dame will accept a bid to play in another small bowl game and whether Weis will coach in it if they do.</p>
<p>Last year a 6-6 team went to the Hawaii Bowl and dominated. That felt different though. Even with an embarassing loss late in the year to Syracuse, the team did look improved from the year before. The bowl game appeared to be the game that reinvented the program.</p>
<p>This year it won&#8217;t feel the same. Say the Irish go to the International Bowl and dominate a MAC team. What will that prove? It won&#8217;t provide the same spark last year&#8217;s bowl game did. The only benefit I can see is that it would be nice to see Clausen and Tate one last time before both make early entries to the NFL.</p>

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		<title>Notre Dame-Stanford: How The Irish Can Win</title>
		<link>http://fightingirishgameday.com/fighting-irish-news/notre-dame-stanford-how-the-irish-can-win/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:57:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Erin McLaughlin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fighting Irish News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[armando allen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BCS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Charlie Weis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Golden Tate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Injury]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[irish fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Tenuta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle McCarthy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manti Te'o]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Floy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Floyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[notre dame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Blanton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[south bend]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[usc]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fightingirishgameday.com/?p=892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Going into the season, Irish fans expected this game at Stanford to be a good one to end the year. Almost everybody has respect for Jim Harbaugh and love what he has done with the program. The program appeared on the verge of breaking out. Notre Dame was expected to contend for a BCS. Stanford [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><span>Going into the season, Irish fans expected this game at Stanford to be a good one to end the year. Almost everybody has respect for Jim Harbaugh and love what he has done with the program. The program appeared on the verge of breaking out. Notre Dame was expected to contend for a <span>BCS</span>.</span></p>
<p><span>Stanford has done it&#8217;s part. Despite the disappointing loss to California last weekend, Stanford has shocked the <span>Pac</span> 10 with dominant wins over Oregon and USC. Toby <span>Gerhart</span> has been a big reason for Stanford&#8217;s success. With 1531 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns, he has just been a workhorse for the Cardinal. </span></p>
<p>Freshman quarterback Andrew Luck has been a nice compliment to Gerhart with 2377 passing yards and 13 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. His rating is 142.8.</p>
<p><span>While Stanford has lived up to their expectations, Notre Dame has not. After a 6-2 start the Irish appeared to be rolling toward a big money bowl game, possibly even a <span>BCS</span> bowl. Jimmy <span>Clausen</span> and Golden Tate were lighting up the scoreboard. Then with Michael Floyd returning from injury, the team was sure to roll.</span></p>
<p>Unfortunately, after 3 close heartbreaking losses the program is in major turmoil. At 6-5, they are no better than they were a year ago. Charlie Weis&#8217;s days as coach appear to be numbered. Will the team even want to play in a bowl game?</p>
<p><span>Based on all that, it seems that there is no way Notre Dame can beat Stanford on the road. There are a couple of factors though that do play into the Irish&#8217;s favor. One is that Weis has had success against the <span>Pac</span> 10 other than USC. In fact he has never lost to a <span>Pac</span> 10 team other than the Trojans. </span></p>
<p>The other factor is that being on the west coast is about as far away from South Bend and all the media attention the players deal with constantly. That could help them just focus on football.</p>
<p><span>Looking at this game, there is really one thing Notre Dame has to do to win. That is take <span>Gerhart</span> out of the game. That does not mean take a cheap shot at him, it means force Harbaugh to take him out of the game plan.</span></p>
<p>John Tenuta should assign a spy to him. Manti Te&#8217;o should go whereever Gerhart goes and tackle him on every play whether he has the ball or not. The best way to stop a runner like this is to not let him get started. Three and out&#8217;s are huge.</p>
<p><span>The other part is the offense needs to do it&#8217;s job as well. <span>Clausen</span> and company need to jump on the Cardinal defense early and often. Tate and Floyd need to be catching everything. If the offense is clicking on all cylinders, the Irish can establish a big lead.</span></p>
<p>Once a lead of about three touchdowns is established, It is time for <a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/tag/armando-allen/" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag nofollow" title="Posts tagged with armando allen">Armando Allen</a> to take over. He needs to continue to run the ball with authority and just take minutes off the clock.</p>
<p><span>Then Stanford would not be able to use <span>Gerhart</span> the way they like. They will have to speed up the pace and have Luck throw the ball more. The only problem is that freshmen quarterbacks have lit up this Irish secondary. </span></p>
<p>That means it is time for Robert Blanton, Sergio Brown and company to finally step up. <a href="http://fightingirishgameday.com/tag/kyle-mccarthy/" class="st_tag internal_tag" rel="tag nofollow" title="Posts tagged with Kyle McCarthy">Kyle McCarthy</a> has done too much by himself back there.</p>

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